


Demon Amongst Us

by Reirani



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Demon Summoning, Demon/Human Relationships, Demons in Ars Goetia-Freeform, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Original Demon Character(s)-Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Severus is Seir
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-01-23 18:35:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21324766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reirani/pseuds/Reirani
Summary: Lily knew her best friend is hiding something from her - there was no way someone who was on the brink of death and was bedridden for days to be suddenly up and about as if nothing had happened. Not to mention, that strange symbol and wings she saw in the hospital wing. He definitely is hiding a secret from her.
Relationships: Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape, Marauders & Severus Snape
Comments: 83
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a more flushed out version of SEIR. The idea of demon Severus Snape was just nagging me to do a multi-chapter one, so here it is.

Severus Snape openly glared and scowled at the group of people before him. The Marauders had ganged up on him while he was busy perusing the questions he remembered from his OWL exams. He supposed it should not surprise him that they would do this unsightly deed in broad daylight in front of other students, or the fact that other students would be disinclined to help him.

‘Schoolboy tussle, indeed.’ He sneered inwardly, remembering the words that the Headmaster used when he had the unfortunate opportunity to come face to maw with a certain werewolf.

It irked him that his own spell – Levicorpus, one that he created and privately shared with his childhood friend, Lily Evans, mere days ago – had been used against him. Furthermore, the Marauders all but vanished his trousers before snickering students, making it so that he was suspended in midair in his knickers.

His scowl only deepened when he silently scanned the crowd to locate Lily and saw a flash of amused smile on her expression. It seemed she quickly schooled her face when she saw him looking at her and came forward to say:

“Leave him alone!”

He could not believe that his supposed childhood best friend found his humiliation amusing. The fact that she was a prefect more responsible than Lupin did not matter, because he could conclude with clarity that she was just the same as everyone else he had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting.

“If you go out with me, Evans, I’ll stop tormenting Snape. Deal?”

“You’re out of your mind, Potter!” Lily retorted in an incensed tone and brandished her wand. “I’m going to report you to Professor McGonagall for your horrid behavior. Now, let Sev down!” 

Severus ignored the incessant arguments between Potter and Lily that occurred for the next couple of minutes. Finally, Potter conceded with utmost reluctance (after Lily threatened to _reducio _his bits) and uttered the counter-spell to release him.

He bit back a startled yell when he unexpectedly began to freefall and inwardly braced himself when the ground neared. He had no time to _accio_ his wand wandlessly, nor the time to ensure that he fell in right position, so he didn’t break his neck.

A loud thud resonated through the area and he let out a low groan, silently halting scathing remarks from escaping his lips when he felt stickiness from the back of his head. He knew undoubtedly that he could not move from his position without hurting himself.

He faintly heard a frantic yet worried voice from his right, and within seconds, he saw the worried eyes of Lily in his vision. It hurt too much to focus, and he just wanted to rest. Her lips moved, but he could not hear what she was saying – she was looking on her left, shouting something to another student nearby before she looked back at him.

She uttered something to him yet again; however, he relinquished his desire to decipher it in favor of resting his eyes, if only for a moment.

* * *

Lily pursed her lips as she nervously paced in front of the Hospital Wing. Her heart still thundered rapidly while she waited for the news of her best friend – even now, she found it difficult to understand the reason behind her housemates’ assault on Sev.

There was no way to word this incident nicely. It shocked her when she realized the blood pooling around Severus’s head – she could still see the image of Sev lying in an odd angle with his blood pooling around him whenever she closed her eyes. It was as if he was a discarded toy, as much as she loathed to admit.

The next few minutes thereafter had been rushed and frantic as she and a Hufflepuff prefect levitated Severus to the Hospital Wing. A sharp intake and a glare from Madam Pomfrey were all the matron said, and promptly locked everyone from the room.

That had been more than three hours ago.

“How is he, Minerva?”

Lily jumped in startled when she heard the Headmaster’s grave tone from behind her. She had not heard him coming at all, but she supposed he would when a student had been gravely injured.

“Poppy is still in there with some healers from St. Mungo.” Professor McGonagall informed in a serious tone. “I can’t believe James and his friends had done this to another student, Albus. I sent an owl to their parents earlier, and to Mr. Snape’s mother. They should be arriving soon.”

“Thank you, Minerva.” Headmaster replied solemnly and shifted his stern gaze unto the Marauders, who attempted to blend in with the walls.

She had forgotten that James and his friends were still in the hallway with her. She faintly remembered them trailing after her and the Hufflepuff prefect when she brought Sev to Madam Pomfrey. Everything after that had been a blur to her.

“This is a very somber situation, boys.” The serious look and tone in the Headmaster’s visage signify just how grave it was. “Would any of you care to enlighten me how Mr. Snape sustained those injuries?”

“We were just talking to him about the Defense OWL.” Sirius replied, trying to sound and look innocent.

Lily opened her mouth to refute that his statement was untrue, but a sharp look from Professor McGonagall made her snap her mouth shut.

“You needed to speak to Mr. Snape, so you suspended him in midair without his trousers to ensure that you had his attention?” Dumbledore raised a dubious brow with a clear distinction of disapproval in his tone.

The Marauders nodded, albeit with less enthusiasm at the chastise; although Lupin looked thoroughly sullen at the rebuke.

“It seems my concern for this situation was warranted.” The headmaster continued and held up a hand when Sirius was about to interrupt him. “I have not forgotten the incident with Remus last year. It seems Mr. Snape has been correct - the animosity between you four and him is simply not schoolboy tussle as I believed it to be. Now, you see what can happen when bullying gets uncontrollable.”

“Bullying?” Sirius echoed incredulously with a scoff. “He’s a slimy snake, on his way to be a Death Eater! And he reached for his wand first!”

Lily nervously gulped when Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at Sirius’s insinuation, and questioned in a sharp tone, “What would you have done if four boys with whom you have a turbulent history confronted you?”

“We are very sorry, sir. We didn’t mean for this to happen.” James interjected somberly with a dejected look.

“It is not me you should apologize to.” Dumbledore remarked with a frown and promptly looked away from the four, looking completely disappointed by their actions. “I will decide what to do with you as soon as we know about Mr. Snape’s conditions.”

The dismissal was clearly evident in the headmaster’s tone, but whatever words he was about to utter completely fell array when the doors to hospital wing slammed open with a distraught Madam Pomfrey.

“Albus, he’s not waking up!”

Lily did not bother to wait for permission from the matron and immediately followed the headmaster into the hospital wing. She heard footsteps behind her, silently noting Professor McGonagall and the Marauders from the corner of her eyes – she had no idea why the four wanted to follow after them, but she was ready to hex them if they stepped a toe out of line.

There were three healers crowding around a bed, each waving a wand over Severus’s person with a tight frown on each healer’s expression. The knitted brows explicitly told her that none of what they did worked, and they were at a loss on how to proceed.

“We have healed his wounds and done everything we could, but he is in coma. Not magical, mind you. He took a sharp hit to the back of his head, you see.” One of the healers, presumably the Head Healer, commented with a grimace. “It will be difficult to say when he would wake up, Professor Dumbledore.”

Or if he would wake up, was the unspoken words that everyone heard.

“Thank you, Sebastian.” The headmaster replied graciously with a nod.

The healers soon left the premise after exchanging some quiet words with Madam Pomfrey, and the palpable solemn atmosphere returned once more. No one dared to utter a word while the matron hooked some Muggle medical devices to Severus. From what Lily understood, they were heart monitor and IV drips with nutrient potions in it.

A lump formed in the back of her throat when she chanced a look towards Severus, who, for once, looked serene and not in imminent danger.

“Sev…”

* * *

Albus Dumbledore felt himself aged by several decades when his thoughts referred back to young Severus Snape in the Hospital Wing. In hindsight, he knew it was a mistake to think that the rivalry between the four sitting before him and Severus was not a schoolboy tussle, especially when he now realized the vindicated streak these four had.

He still does not know how he managed to inform young Severus’s mother or how he worded it. He never would have thought that he would have to do so during his tenure. How does one tell a child’s parent that her child is in a coma due to bullying without making it seem like neglect on his part?

“Professor…”

Whatever words or platitudes James was about utter died down when the floo network flared up. Within seconds, Fleamont Potter and his wife, Euphemia, stepped out – the two gave quizzical looks at his direction, but he immediately gestured them to take a seat.

“What is going on, Albus?” Fleamont asked in a no-nonsense tone.

“Is Jamie in trouble?” Euphemia added with a frown.

“I will explain when everyone is here, Lord Potter, Lady Potter.” He responded formally, just to hint the severity of the problem.

In the next few minutes, the Lupins (Lyall and Hope), the Blacks (Orion and Walburga), and Anna Pettigrew arrived. Once again, he directed them to the seats before him and ordered a round of refreshments while he carefully constructed the statement in his head.

There was no easy to say this, no matter how he looked at it.

“It is regretful that we are meeting under this circumstance, but I will not sweeten the words. We had an incident involving your sons and another student yesterday. I am equally appalled and disappointed by their actions.” He began somberly with a serious expression. “From what witnesses say, James and his friends ambushed a student, who was minding his own business. What resulted from this incident was that, we now have a student in a coma and to be very blunt, unless a miracle of sorts occurred, it is very unlikely that he would wake up or if at all.”

Stunned silence blanketed the room as the parents tried to digest the news, and the four students uneasily fidgeted in their seats, fully aware of the disapproving stares directed at them.

“May I ask who the student is?” Fleamont questioned with a frown.

“His name is Severus Snape. Horace tells me that he is a genius in potions, and it is very likely that he would either become a Potions Master or a healer in the future. He has already invented his own spells, from what other professors tells me. He is a rare talent that we see mayhap once per generation.” Albus answered with a pointed look that made everyone aware of the unsaid words.

“Augustus's grandson.” Orion uttered with a pinched look.

He nodded in confirmation, and continued, “I had informed his mother of the incident this morning. Suffice to say, she made her displeasure quite well-known.”

“Are you going to expel Remus and his friends?” Hope interjected with a frown.

He understood where she was coming from, especially when he considered the creature issue young Remus had, but he also needed to consider what other parents and the Board of Governors would say if (or perhaps, the correct wording would be ‘when’) they knew about this incident. He also needed to consider restitution on young Severus’s behalf.

“I believe the best possible solution now would be three weeks’ suspension, revoking Quidditch privileges from James and Sirius, revoking Prefect honor from Remus, detention with Mr. Filch until graduation, and surveillance of their movements for the next year. Your wands will be checked by Professor McGonagall every night, and you also will forfeit your Invisibility Cloak and the so-called Marauders’ map.” Albus stated relentlessly, knowing that this was what he should have done last year. He held up a hand to cease whatever protests the four had, and continued, “Gryffindor will forfeit the House Cup this year. It will be Professor McGonagall’s purview to decide if the House of Gryffindor will compete next year.”

“In addition to the Headmaster’s punishment, we will be having words about your actions, Sirius Orion Black.” Walburga added in a chilling calm tone that did not showcase her ire. “You will be spending the rest of the holidays at home.”

Fleamont sent a disappointed look at James, who looked quite chastened and did not dare to look up, and said, “Same goes for you, James. You will have to write a letter to your schoolmate’s mother explaining your actions, and how you will make restitution to the young man when he wakes up. That is, if he wakes up. The House of Potters do not condone murders, and what you’ve done is just shy of one.”

“I can’t believe you would ruin another’s future like this, James.” Euphemia added softly with disappointment glistening in her eyes.

Whatever words or conversations the other parents were going to unleash immediately halted when the floo network flared up, and Poppy’s voice rang out:

“Albus! You have to come quick! Something is happening to young Severus!”

He gave a quick glance towards the four students and their parents, silently contemplating if he should have them wait here or have them come with him. He was quite unsure if it would be wise to bring them to see young Severus, especially when Eileen Snape was still present in the Hospital Wing since their conversation hours ago.

“We’re coming too.” Fleamont insisted with a stubborn look.

* * *

This was not the first time Lily met her best friend’s mother, but it was certainly the first time she had seen the woman this distraught. However, given the situation, she understood and gave the older woman a wide breadth.

That had been some hours ago, and when she revisited the Hospital Wing after her last class of the day, she found the older woman sitting by the bedside with a hand clasped in Sev’s hand.

“Oh, Severus…” Eileen whispered as she brushed away some strands of hair away from his tranquil expression.

Lily did not know what to make the situation, so she opted to sit on the opposite side and exchanged some greetings. When silence blanketed the room, she decided to regale her best friend with the happenings in Hogwarts, if only to fill the lull and occupy herself with something.

She told him tales of her fellow Gryffindor friends, the classes, and her plans for the summer. She noticed from the corner of her eyes that Eileen was giving her an appraising look. She had no idea what to make of it, so she continued with her tale of Mary’s attempts to woo the Hufflepuff prefect who helped Severus.

“- and then in Charms, Mary sat next to him, but he didn’t notice until Professor Flitwick said we were supposed to partner up.” Lily rambled animatedly with hand gestures. “He was so surprised to know that it wasn’t his friend sitting next to him.”

“Miss Evans.” Eileen interjected smoothly.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Can I leave Severus in your care?” The older woman asked with piercing stare that made her nervous. “I need to get back before his father returns.”

“O-of course.”

The two exchanged some pleasantries, where one was in a calm manner while the other was in a nervous stutter, and Eileen left the room via the floo network. The room blanketed in silence yet again, save for the beeping noises from the heart monitor, as Lily fidgeted in her seat anxiously before she moved to where Eileen had sat.

“Between you and me, Sev, your mom is scary.” She whispered to her best friend as she grabbed his hand. “I wish you’d wake up soon, Sev.”

She nearly jumped in startled when the doors opened and Madam Pomfrey walked in with a tray of new nutrient potions. She wordlessly began to change the drips and then hooked up a new pouch of nutrient potions.

“Miss Evans, have you had your dinner yet?” The matron asked with eyes focused on the current task.

“Yes, Madam Pomfrey.” She answered in the same quiet tone, and waited until the healer had finished with her task to ask, “How is Sev doing?”

“There’s still no changes, sadly. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. None of us do… it’s as if he had shut down.”

Lily didn’t know what to say to that, so she kept her silence as she clenched her hand around his.

A startled gasp escaped from her mouth when her best friend’s body began to glow in silver light and his body began levitating a couple of feet off the bed. The body then began to aglow, emitting a silvery light that strangely reminded Lily of moonlight, and an astral form of her best friend separated from his body. Throughout this strange event, his hospital attire and hair ruffled in invisible air, and interestingly, a strange sigil depicting a pair of wings materialized around the bed.

“I’m going to inform the headmaster of this development.” That was the only warning Madam Pomfrey gave.

She ignored the fact that the matron was speaking to the headmaster via floo network, and continued to keep her eyes on Severus, who was still suspended in midair. She did not know how many minutes it had passed, but she finally tore her gaze away from the scene when the doors slammed opened.

The headmaster walked in first, and the Marauders and their parents followed shortly after. She noted that their gazes first landed on the levitating Severus – they looked quite perplexed by the development – before they noticed her presence at last.

“You say it just happened?” Dumbledore inquired in a thoughtful tone after he finished conversing with the matron to get an update. “That is rather strange.”

Lily let out a surprised gasp when the astral form of her best friend shattered into myriads of pieces, like a mirror, and a pair of angelic wings sprouted from Severus’s shoulder blades. The wings cocooned around his body for the next few tense seconds, and a pale silver ring of light emitted from its center. She would have thought that the wings would unfurl in the next few seconds, but it remained tightly clasped together and hovered in midair as if it had a mind of its own.

“Headmaster, do you know what these strange symbols mean?” Madam Pomfrey questioned, gesturing to the sigil that was glowing underneath the winged cocoon.

“I’m afraid not, Poppy.” Dumbledore replied with an inquisitive look at the sigil. “Will you inform me when these wings release our young Severus?”

“Of course.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make Dumbledore a competent headmaster because Snape needs someone in his corner. 
> 
> I'm still contemplating on what sorts of restitution the Marauders will make to Snape. Ideas are welcomed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Have you been avoiding me, Sev?”
> 
> “Tell me why you smiled during the incident then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, Trickster32, for the ideas you've given me in regards to the restitution.

The next time Lily saw Severus had been nearly two weeks after that strange occurrence in the Hospital Wing. She knew that Madam Pomfrey released him a week ago – she intended to visit him, only to find out that he had returned to Slytherin dorm – and it irked her he did not bother informing her. Not that he required to, but she had thought he would, considering their friend status. Ever since then, her attempts to have a conversation with him had be rebuked at every turn with every excuse imaginable (he was resting, he was busy trying to catch up on missed homework, or he left to speak with a professor). 

So, she could not help but openly stare when he had casually strolled into the Great Hall amid curious whispers from other students, who were still speculating about the incident by the lake. Interestingly, the Marauders were subdued for past two weeks and had not even pulled a prank as they tended to do.

Moreover, she did not know why she swallowed nervously when her best friend walked passed her (without so much as a glance towards her, might she add), and nearly balked at the sheer authoritative aura his presence commanded. It was as if she was in the presence of someone powerful and of a royal status. From the corner of her eyes, she noted that everyone – even the professors – had paused to look at Severus.

It astounded her that his hooked nose, bad skincare, and limp greasy hair that defined him had completely vanished. She was not ashamed to say that the person she now stared at would be what Severus would have looked like if he had financial means to support himself. She could easily say this appearance he now sported was extremely handsome, like he was a prince out of a fairytale.

“So, how are you feeling?” What would have a quiet question from Evan Rosier was quite loud when the whole Great Hall was silent, and everyone seemed to be looking forward to hearing the answer.

“Normal, I suppose, considering what had transpired.” Severus answered in the same silky tone that interestingly held amusement by the whole situation.

“You look different.” Another Slytherin student commented and immediately quieted at the sudden attention from the still silent Great Hall.

“I noticed. Almost dying does that to you.” Severus replied drily with a smirk that would surely aggravate lesser people.

She watched in almost awe when his body language – she had known him for years – hinted that he was not in the mood to converse. Lily gulped nervously when her eyes met his from across the room, but he easily dismissed her in favor of resuming with his meal.

It irked her that he was ignoring her, and she doesn’t understand why.

* * *

Severus heaved a deep sigh as he stared at the passing scenery from the window of Hogwarts Express. It had been tiresome past couple of days doing mundane activities of a student, and as much as he wished to retire for the day and sleep for the rest of the journey, he still had duties that needed his immediate attention.

Luckily, he had no need to catch-up on his missed assignments anymore. The professors had been understanding, more so than they had in all the years he attended Hogwarts. It was rather strange, but he wordlessly accepted the change, if only to make his life simpler.

He rubbed his temple in an attempt to ease his oncoming headache and continued to read the thick documents he received earlier this morning. It was quite alarming, if he was being truthful.

“Is it the rising Dark Lord who is summoning them or someone else?” He murmured under his breath and flipped to the next page.

From what he understood this far, lower leveled ones had been compromised – most likely enthralled by the summons and empty promises, and there was nothing he or anyone could do, except put them out of their misery.

“The question is which legions they are from and if they’re infected.” He mulled with a frown.

The more he read the detailed reports, the more alarming and uneasy it made him. The report regaled tales that would have sickened even a master occlumen. The summons had made the lower leveled ones behave as of they were puppets without a will of their own.

“Well, I suppose this is the reason why His Highness Zagan made me abandon my disguise.” He concluded with a sigh upon reaching to the last paragraph of the report.

His remark reminded him of the scene from the hospital wing wherein his disguise's astral form had been destroyed. He could no longer assume the appearance of Severus Snape, even though he currently adorned that name. It wasn’t a total loss for him, if he had been truthful, and frankly, that incident had broken the locks he placed on his abilities. So, he relished the freedom he now had.

He tossed the item back on the small table on top of other documents and leaned back against his seat. Now, he needed to come up with a plan to deal with this situation without grabbing his legions and obliterating the idiots into tiny pieces.

That would most definitely involve a lot of unnecessary paperwork, which would defeat purpose of the freedom he just obtained. More importantly, such actions would destroy the secrecy the Kings had enforced.

Severus narrowed his eyes when he heard footsteps nearing his compartment and the telltale sign of door opening, followed by a, “There you are, Sev. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Lily.

To be utterly truthful, he had forgotten about her in his busy state. Not that he would admit it to her face, of course. What truly surprised him was the company in which she came with – the Marauders, Marlene McKinnon, Mary McDonald, Alice Fortescue, and Frank Longbottom.

He inwardly heaved a deep sigh at the group intruding on him as he wordlessly gathered his array of documents. These papers were not for the public eyes, after all. He just finished shoving them in his bag when Lily took a seat across from him.

“Have you been avoiding me, Sev?”

He raised a delicate brow at her presumption as he coolly regarded the friends she brought, and then gave them a nod of acknowledge before he looked back at his childhood best friend. From the corner of his eyes, he noted the others sitting down in empty seats around him and looked utterly uncomfortable, much to his hidden glee.

“Of course not, Lily. I’ve just been busy.” He answered politely yet detachedly.

“I’ve been trying to get in touch with you since you were released from the Hospital Wing.” She continued in almost accusatory tone that implied it was his fault she failed in her self-imposed quest.

He deemed it was not worth a response, so he opted to remain silent and raised a quizzical brow at Marlene McKinnon, who was sitting next to Lily.

“We were curious about you.” Marlene answered to his silent query, and then jabbed a thumb at the Marauders sitting across from them. “They wanted to formally apologize to you, or so I’ve heard.”

“I am not a spectacle, Miss McKinnon.” He commented coolly while he merely flicked a glance towards the surprisingly subdued Marauders and opted to ignore the latter half of her statement.

“I know. We know.” Mary interjected hastily and gulped when his gaze met hers. Interestingly, she continued to brave on with a, “It’s just you changed so much after the incident.”

He did not bother with a response to that remark.

“Look, Sni – Snape, we want to apologize about what happened.” Potter began while ruffling that unruly hair like it was a cool move to do. “I’m truly sorry. We were wrong to bully you for as long as we have, simply because you exist and because you’re Lily’s friend.”

“We were assholes, alright?” Black muttered with a scowl.

Severus inwardly sighed at the uncomfortable looks on the Marauders and the expectant look on Lily’s expression, silently demanding him to accept the apology and move on. He does not understand why she would think this, especially when this was his prerogative to decide whether he should accept this half-hearted attempt at an apology.

“I see.”

He really did not; however, he was not going to admit this… especially to this crowd that he somehow garnered.

“So, what kinds of Dark Arts did you use to change your looks?” Peter Pettigrew questioned cajolingly in a poor attempt to break the uncomfortable silence.

“Peter!”

“What, you’re all thinking about it!”

He disregarded the wolf’s attempt to chastise Pettigrew and looked out the window. There was not much to see since it was in the late morning – same green hills underneath blue skies passed by since the first hour of boarding. He turned to look back the group to see that Pettigrew looked properly chastised while Lupin gave him a sheepish look.

“Sev, you never answered my question.” Lily pointed out with a frown to show her displeasure.

“Tell me why you smiled during the incident then.” He rebutted coldly and narrowed his eyes calculatingly when he noted that she froze at his remark.

* * *

Lily froze in her seat upon hearing those words from her best friend. She had no idea that he had seen her smile when James's antic amused her, despite everything.

“I – I…”

There was nothing she could say to make this sound better.

She flinched when Severus regarded her coldly, making it seem like she was unworthy to be in his presence, and returned his attention back to the scenery. It hurt that his clear dismissal indicated that she was unworthy of his time as well.

It was definitely strange to see her best friend behave in this manner. The Severus she had known and grew up with did not behave like this at all.

“Lily, you _smiled_ when your childhood friend was being humiliated?” Marlene interjected in an aghast tone. “I don’t know how Snape could stand to talk to you. If I were him, I wouldn’t talk to you or even want to look at you at all. What kind of friend are you? Are you even his friend?”

Lily opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, not knowing what to say to the sudden lecture. She would have thought her friend would side with her, considering all the naggings she received for hanging out with Severus. It baffled her that Marlene would suddenly change tunes.

“Marlene!” Alice looked like she was having a difficult time deciding which friend to side with.

“You know it’s true, Alice.” Marlene replied stubbornly with narrowed eyes. “And Lily, you're the one who keeps telling us that he is your best friend, but you're also the one who keeps undermining everything he does. I'm not defending Snape for his past actions, but I think it's unfair that his best friend doesn't believe he could be good.”

Severus merely raised a brow, as if it amused him, but did not utter a comment about it. He did not even bother look her way, no matter how pleadingly she was looking at him.

“So, James, mind telling us why you and your friends willingly decided to come to this compartment?” Frank changed the topic and the uneasy atmosphere that followed thereafter.

“It’s about our restitution. Our parents told us it’s up to him, so here we are. Have you decided what it will be, Snape?” Remus replied before anyone else could say anything.

“Financial replacement of all items you have destroyed or ruined over the past five years. Of course, considering we have finished our fifth year, I have no needs for books and such so I will accept monetary value in their stead instead. I will also require a binding oath from you four to leave me alone for the remainder of my stay at Hogwarts.” Severus answered in the same cold tone that sent shivers down her spines. “I will give you until the first of September to complete the first part of your repayment. As for your oath, all I require is your signature on these documents.”

Lily frowned while she watched as her best friend took out four documents and quills from his bag. She wanted to know what the documents entailed, but she had a feeling it was restrictive if those widened eyes and furrowed brows from James and his friends meant anything. 

“Well, it’s pretty self-explanatory.” James muttered and grabbed a quill to sign the document. “All I have to do is sign, right?”

At his nod, all four Marauders signed the document and handed it back to Severus, who pocketed it in his bag without a word of gratitude.

She gave a slight frown, silently pondering if such drastic measure was necessary. She would have figured the restitution had been completed since she didn’t hear anything about it from the Marauders. Speaking of which…

“Sev, I remembered seeing this strange sigil with wings in the Hospital Wing. Then you were engulfed in a pair of wings. I wonder what kind of magic it was.”

“Oh yeah, when you emerged from it, your old looks completely disappeared.” James chimed in with a thoughtful look. “What’s up with that?”

“Do I look like I know what happens in the world when I’m unconscious?” Severus retorted scathingly with a glare.

“No need to be rude about it.” Sirius retaliated with a heated glare.

“Guys, no need to fight.” Frank interrupted before this discussion could escalate, and then looked over to say, “Lily, do you remember what that symbol looks like? Maybe we can research it over the summer.”

Alice frowned at the suggestion, and pointed out, “What if it’s something dangerous, Frank? Snape would have to deal with it without knowing what it is for the whole summer.”

She watched with a frown when Severus simply raised a brow at the concern, but he turned his gaze away from others’ inquisitive glances in favor of staring out the window. She doesn’t understand why he was so short with her these days. He usually forgave her almost immediately if she had done something wrong.

“It looks like this.” Lily replied as she took out a piece of parchment from her bag, and then drew the pair of wings she remembered seeing.

She observed the furrowed brows on her friends’ faces – surprisingly, James and his friends also decided to partake in this discussion – and looked over to see the uninterested expression on her best friend. She doesn’t understand why Severus could be so blasé about this when it concerned him.

“I feel like I’ve seen this symbol before.” Sirius murmured out loud with knitted brows. “I meant, aside from that one time in the hospital wing.”

“Try to remember, Black. This is important.” Frank insisted in an earnest tone.

A loud crack cut through whatever words she was about to say, and Lily immediately turned around to see Severus’s right hand clenched around the pieces of the small tabletop and a thunderous yet cold expression on his face.

“…Sev?”

The cold and unforgiving smirk etched on her best friend’s expression afterward scared her, to say the least, and that unexplainable gleam in his cold eyes stunned her in her seat. She had no idea what had angered him, but the oppressive and unforgiving atmosphere she felt subsequently was rather frightening, almost as if raw magic was stifling her and everyone else.

She had a feeling it was repressed magic from Sev, but she did not want to utter a word about it in fear of directing his attention onto her.

“Found you… I’ll be back later.”

Those dark ominous words were the only warning she and everyone else received before Severus exited the compartment as if he was a man on a mission. Almost immediately, the oppressive atmosphere disappeared, and she was able to breathe easily once more.

“That was scary.” Peter squeaked with perspiration rolling down his face.

“You’re telling me. Snape could be frightening.” Mary agreed in a murmur.

Lily stared at the door Severus retreated to while she attempted to calm her wildly palpitating heartbeats.

* * *

Tom Marvolo Riddle finished drawing the intricate summoning circle after consulting with his book several times. It had taken him weeks, if not months, to check that he had necessary materials to ensure that this worked.

He grabbed the silver ritual knife he obtained from one of the shops in Knockturn Alley, and then nicked his wrist so that some of his blood splashed on the summoning circle. Once that was done, he consulted the book yet again before he chanted:

_“O Spirit, I conjure thee in secret. _   
_Come forth from thy abode and speak clearly in my speech._   
_Put forth thy might and unravel unto me the knowledge and power thy keep._   
_Answer all my questions without fail;_   
_And divulge unto me thy form of divine perfection._   
_Open thy secret door and fulfill my purpose!_   
_Reveal thyself to me, Seir!”_

“So, you’re the fool who decided to summon me… as well as other demons.”

Tom bit down the startled scream which threatened to escape from his lips at the unknown voice that appeared out of nowhere. He looked around the premise, the basement of his current establishment, in his attempts to locate the owner of the voice. Aside from the chalked insignia that he drew for his summoning, he failed to locate any and all additional persons in the small room with him.

“Who’s there?” He questioned sharply with narrowed eyes, irked by that fact that someone managed to surprise him.

“Surely, you know who you tried to summon, don’t you? Prince of East Abyss, Seir.” He did not know anyone named Seir, considering he only followed the ritual written in the book. Besides, it baffled him that the room had slowly encased in ice by the mere coldness in the other party’s voice. “I’ve already eliminated the fools weak and imprudent enough to answer to your summons earlier this week. Now, imagine my surprise when you attempted to summon me.”

“Then you know who I am.” Tom remarked grandly with a charismatic smirk in an attempt to hide his uneasiness. “I will be the one to revolutionize the Wizarding World, after all.”

His eyes widened in surprised when he saw the air shimmered, and then revealed a beautiful ethereal man with dark-colored long hair in half ponytail and ruby red eyes. The being before him stared with such cold gaze that would surely freeze water several times over, and his mouth nearly watered at the prospect of having this power in his arsenal when he conquered the Wizarding World. He could easily win against Dumbledore and the Order of Phoenix with this being in his team.

“I don’t care who you are. You are foolish if you think we will yield to mortals. You have no business summoning demons to the mortal plane, and you will pay for your transgressions.” Seir responded unyieldingly.

“So, you are a demon, yourself.” Tom noted with a slight brow raised. “Prince Seir, we could do so much together; yet, I fail to understand why you wish to align yourself to those who would rather remain stagnant with their changes. This world needs evolution.”

“You presume that I am with them. I am not.” The demon replied coolly and walked over to him rather hypnotically. He wasn’t aware of the fact that he was backing away until his back hit against the stone wall, and this being before him had him trapped. “I am neither good nor evil, as such I do not care about your petty war against the so-called Light side. Neither I nor my associates care what happens to the mortal plane. Your world could be set in ablaze and we wouldn’t care or lift a finger to help. You will do well to remember that, mortal.”

Those red eyes were the last that he saw before darkness took over his vision, and he felt an otherworldly coldness around and in him.

* * *

Severus exhaled deeply once more, attempting to calm his ire, and occluded the emotions that composed of his disguise. He did not realize that the British Wizarding World still had documents or records of such rituals. So, it was quite startling that a certain Dark Lord had summoned him using archaic ritual.

This made his job easier, nonetheless. He finally found one of the culprits behind the mass summons of lower leveled demons. The mortal plane would not survive if his Kings decided to unleash their fury for enslaving demons, no matter the rank, and for forcing him and his peers to obliterate them.

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve participated in one.” He mused with a smirk. “It should be interesting, should that happen.”

He quickly schooled his expression as he headed back to the compartment he had exited earlier. Not because he wanted the company of those in there, but because of his belongings.

“Sev, what happened?” Lily immediately began with her interrogation as soon as he stepped in.

Severus flicked an inconsequential glance at her direction and at the query while he took his seat once more. There was still 5 hours left until the train arrives to the platform, and he could not even use his powers to travel in a blink of an eye as he had done earlier. 

His fellow peers would get a laugh out of this, if they heard about it. He, Prince Seir, was forced to endure the company of humans in his mortal guise. Sometimes, he had to ponder why he accepted this insanity – the background created for Severus Snape was utterly pitiful and the appearance was wholly different from his actual one. Not that he thought this was a torture initially, but one could only take physical abuse from mortals for so long even with demonic healing abilities.

“It makes me wonder what the Council will choose.” He murmured under his breath with an almost amused smirk.

“Sev?” Lily gave him a disapproving frown for his lack of answer.

“Miss Evans, until you have an adequate explanation for your reason to smile at my humiliation, I will have to ask you to cease conversing with me.” He responded coldly without so much as a glance at her direction.

He then looked over to others in the compartment, silently daring them to refute with his decision – interestingly, none of them did. Not even Potter and his tag along.

“I told you he wouldn’t forget or forgive you for that.” Marlene interjected knowingly with a pointed look.

He inwardly heaved another sigh and silently contemplated if he was getting tired of behaving as a mortal. Wordlessly, he took out a stack of parchment papers and a fountain pen to begin with his report. He wanted to record his findings at his earliest convenience, just so he had every detail written for the record.

He promptly decided to ignore his 'delightful' company in favor of completing his work; after all, paperwork does not wait for anyone. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “My sources revealed that we have two culprits – two humans – with knowledge and materials to summon us to mortal plane. What are your assessments, gentlemen?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My laptop rebelled recently to the point that screen turned off randomly while I'm working. Everything would work well (mostly) except for that issue. So, I ended up getting a new laptop (just yesterday, really). On top of that, I was having issues with one of my supervisors at work; what with her saying I'm not being professional enough with dealing with clients. I have my techniques in how I handle with my clients, and she has hers - yet, she wanted me to do it her way. I'm just annoyed with her assessment that what I'm doing is lacking, when other supervisors said that the exact opposite mere days before.
> 
> Sorry for slow updates, regardless.

Sirius frowned as he watched Snape gathered and put away a thick stack of paper that the Slytherin had been working on for the past four hours and some minutes. As much as he loathed to admit it, Snape's current behavior and mannerism confused him – this was not the usual hex and spew insults first Snape that he was used to seeing for the past few years.

He was seeing an entirely different person altogether, and this whole situation baffled him.

“Padfoot, are you okay?” James asked in a low tone.

“Yeah.” What else could he say?

“Sev, is your mom coming to pick you up? I’m sure my dad wouldn’t mind giving you a ride.” Lily spoke in a hopeful tone.

He thought it was rather pathetic that Lily looked so hopeful when she uttered those statements. It was rather unsurprising to him that she would not apologize for her actions, but still hoped that Snape would forgive her. Not that he could lecture her on this matter considering he was one of the instigators.

Still, her prideful stance and demeanor irked him for reasons unknown.

It didn’t surprise him when Sirius noticed an unimpressed look on the Slytherin’s face and replied in a cold tone, “No thank you, I’ll manage.”

Well, he supposed it would be a long while before those two reconciled.

It astonished him that he did not feel guilty whatsoever when he thought about it, especially when one of their pranks had caused this rift.

Considering what he knew about Lily, it astounded him that Snape had remained her friend for this long. He didn’t want to say anything about James’s love interest, but that girl could certainly be judgmental.

He wouldn’t want to date someone like that.

He snapped out of his musing and gathered his belongings, just as the train arrived at King’s Crossing.

He would mull over the mystery that was Severus Snape later when he doesn’t feel the stares aimed at his person.

* * *

Seir ran a hand through his long hair and tied it in a messy half ponytail that somehow ended up looking elegant. He casually strolled down the hall towards a pair of ornate doors, and gave a nod of acknowledgement to the guards before he walked in.

It wasn’t a surprise that his Kings called for a council meeting mere hours after he met the so-called Dark Lord. He supposed the constant summons irritated them enough to act – he just hoped this wouldn’t be a preemptive strike against humans.

He doesn’t want to prepare for a war on top of everything he had on his itinerary.

He took a seat in his assigned spot and glanced around the large meeting room. Aside from the Kings, he also noted Grand Dukes (who were his superiors) and Princes (who were in same rank as him). It appeared that Marquises, Counts, and Presidents were exempted from this meeting since they did not meet required rank. In short, they were of lower ranks, so he knew that this meeting was going to be a serious one.

Today was going to be one of those long days. He could already feel a headache already forming at the back of his head just from that thought alone.

He gave a small bow towards the long black-haired man sitting at the head of the table – King Bael – and leaned back against his seat as he waited for the meeting to commence. He flicked a glance towards a man with semi-long black hair and ruby red eyes, his King Zagan, to see the man was conversing in low tone with Bael.

“Let us begin, shall we?” Bael interjected through various conversations without a preamble, and continued, “My sources revealed that we have two culprits – two humans – with knowledge and materials to summon us to mortal plane. I believe Seir had the displeasure to be summoned to one of them, and Orobas was summoned to another. What are your assessments, gentlemen?”

“Your Majesty, the mortal that summoned me was Tom Marvolo Riddle, a half-blood wizard, who is also stylized as Lord Voldemort. The current Dark Lord that British Wizarding World has difficulty dealing with. Amusingly, he asked me to join him.”

“So, you’re telling me that the supposed Dark Lord of Wizarding Britain decided to summon lower leveled demons to be a part of his army? And he decided to summon you? Please tell me that you gave him a thorough thrashing, Seir.” 

Amused snickers and chuckles rang through the room, and one of the Grand Dukes sitting across from him remarked, “I’m positive you refused, Seir. You detest bothersome endeavors such as that.”

“Of course, Astaroth.” Seir replied with a smirk and a pointed look. “Regardless, Your Highnesses, mortals need to get over their hubris and realize that there is a bigger threat than themselves. They are not ready to face our forces – such as our lowest leveled ones, never mind us – if our plane merged with them.”

“Who is the other summoner?” The long light-blue haired man with amber eyes, Paimon, questioned in an eerily calm tone.

“Someone named Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.”

He looked over with a raised brow at the navy-blue haired man with hazel eyes, Stolas, somewhat surprised by the declaration.

He never would have guessed that the Headmaster would delve into such endeavors, considering that summoning demons would be ‘dark arts.’ Then again, it was interesting to learn that the Headmaster was not as light as the public would have thought.

Furthermore, it stunned him to realize that the supposed leader of light magic knew how to summon demons and have necessary materials to make it happen. He had to stop and ponder if Dumbledore knew the meaning behind his sigil that had been revealed in the Hospital Wing.

“So, the British Wizarding World wishes to recruit us to fight their civil war for them.” The silvery long-haired man with striking dark gray eyes commented in an amused tone. “I once knew a mortal who had this philosophy: peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy. If they wish to compare our stick with theirs, why don’t we showcase them our prowess.” 

“King Beleth, why do I get the feeling that you just want to pound sense into mortals?” Astaroth remarked in a dry tone. “I had thought that having Statue of Secrecy meant that we are not supposed to reveal ourselves to mortals unless they somehow summoned us.”

“We could weed out the rebels in our ranks this way. If any one of you decided to side with those two idiots, my legions and I will make sure that you don’t reform for eons.” Beleth replied in an uncaring tone.

Seir gulped nervously when the stern cold glare from the King of the South met his gaze and nodded in agreement. Not that he would dare to disagree regardless because he doesn’t want to side with the wizards.

“Considering our Prince Seir is amid Wizarding Britain and knows our two culprits, can we ask you to oversee this assignment? You can, of course, take three other individuals, one from each rank to form your own team.” Bael continued in a serious tone.

He silently bemoaned at the new assignment he received – not that he would dare to refuse when his Kings and Grand Dukes were present – and gave his accord with a nod.

“If I may bring Phoenix, Raim, and Camio for my team, I’d appreciate it, Your Majesty.”

He decided to go with those lower than his rank instead of seeking for a Grand Duke's assistance, simply because he valued his life. It was an unwritten rule to not seek assistance from those of higher rank than oneself for any given assignment, unless that help was offered.

Bael nodded in assent, and solemnly looked over to everyone, “If the confrontations in Wizarding Britain continues and escalates, wherein they continue to summon our kinds, there will be a third side – us. For now, I will leave this to Prince Seir and his chosen team. In the meantime, we will ensure that the doorway between our world and the human world remain secured, as well as identify who is weakening the doorway and eliminate that threat. Prince Seir, I advise that you and your team to not reveal your true forms when you confront them unless it’s absolutely necessary – although our demonic powers and abilities ensure that humans do not remember when we transform, we do not need take that unneeded risk.”

“There had been some documentations and records of us in the past.” A man with long chestnut-brown hair with emerald-green eyes added nonchalantly. “Most of those documents had been destroyed during wars, from what I recalled, but humans have advanced in recent years. I rather we do not take that risk if we can help it. So, be mindful of the Statue of Secrecy.”

“Of course, King Belial.” Seir chimed in agreement.

“Now then, let us divert our attention to another matter…”

* * *

Lily gulped nervously as she stared at the house before her. A couple of weeks had passed since the eventful encounter on Hogwarts Express, and she had taken the time to mull over what had transpired in terms of her friendship with Severus. To say it had taken a nosedive would be an understatement, but she had no idea what had happened to her best friend – he had instantly become someone she does not understand all the sudden.

That incident by the lake had changed him – that much she understood.

However, she understood, after a heated conversation with her family and a scornful look from Petunia, that her brief smile of amusement irked him. Petunia of all people had driven that point to her, and she knew that her older sister didn’t even like Severus.

She still doesn’t know what to say to him, or how to go about apologizing. But here she was. Standing outside his house while she waited for him to appear, just so she could properly ask for forgiveness from him.

“What do you want?” A gruff voice interrupted her musing.

She greatly controlled her urge to jump in startle at the voice and stared at the man before her. It took her a handful of seconds to remember that the person before her was Severus’s father – Tobias Snape.

“Is Severus home?” She asked politely and tried her best not to inhale the alcohol exuding from the man.

“The brat went to the park with some friends of his.” Tobias replied and did not bother to wait for her response as he went inside the house.

Lily furrowed her brows in confusion, wondering who Severus went to meet even if it was none of her business, and made her ways to the park. Much to her displeasure, she had arrived at her destination at a quicker rate than she would have liked and looked around the premise to locate Severus.

She knew that there would be families and children visiting the park, but it was weirdly cold and empty for a late afternoon weekend. She could not even hear birds chirping on the trees, or even the rustling noises of the trees and plants despite the soft breeze she felt. She shivered at the sudden coldness in the air and rubbed her arms several times to warm herself.

If she did not know any better, it was as if someone had casted a silencing and cold charm around the area. Moreover, she did not see a single person and could not help but wonder if Severus’s father had mistakenly given her wrong information.

With a confused frown, she walked around the empty park and looked around to decipher why it was desolate. Yet, when she returned to her starting point, she was no closer to solving this mystery than she had at the beginning.

“Just what is going on here…?” She voiced out loud in a puzzled tone.

* * *

Severus heaved a quiet sigh from his spot from top of a tall pine tree as he silently watched Lily began to walk away from the park. Despite the fact he knew he needed to have that conversation with her, he did not want to commence on that any time soon, and he felt it was not as important as the assignment his Kings had issued to him.

“Well, Seir, if you’re done hiding from that mortal, we can begin with our planning.”

He glanced over to the young man with slightly wavy dark green hair that could be mistaken for black and smirked at the annoyed glints in those hazel eyes. It amused him that Camio does not like mortals despite many years working in the mortal realm.

Severus looked around the premise once more to ensure that no one was in the vicinity – a feat he was able to manage to do with his powers. When he was positive that no mortals remained, he nimbly jumped from his spot and landed elegantly on his feet. His fellow demons followed his example shortly after and the four walked over to the lone tree near a lake.

He quickly recounted his findings to the group, explaining about the demon summoning rituals that certain Tom Marvolo Riddle and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had done. He then gave a short background information on the two men before he explained the meeting with the Kings and Grand Dukes, and then the subsequent assignment they received before he continued with the plan he had.

“The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, has a phoenix familiar named Fawkes.” He gave a short glance towards the semi-long dark red hair demon.

“You want me to take its spot and spy on the old man.” At his nod, the dark red hair demon, Phoenix, rolled his amethyst purple eyes at the plan and said, “I suppose it should be easy to do that and know his secrets. I find it interesting that he is portraying himself as a caring grandfather figure while he opted to summon us behind everyone’s back.”

“Camio would be able to follow Tom Riddle easily in his crow form.” Severus continued with a thoughtful look.

The mentioned person merely hummed in agreement without bothering to add to that remark.

“In the meantime, Seir and I can research to see if there are any more documents or reports about summoning rituals and such.” The short silver haired and amethyst purple eyes demon, Raim, chimed in with a small smirk. “This should be rather easy considering my ability. Moreover, I also suggest we do not confront these individuals until we confer our findings and conceive a comprehensive plan.

“Then I suppose we have a strategy on our roles.” Camio interjected with knitted brows in a thoughtful manner. “I suggest, Seir, you get a compartment to yourself on the first of September on Hogwarts Express so we can reconvene with our information. We can then strategize our next move. We will have roughly three months to observe our marks.”

“Understood.” Severus murmured in agreement. He flicked a glance towards the three demons standing next to him before he matched their amused smirks, each knowing that upcoming assignments would be relatively easy with their abilities.

“We agree with the plan then?” Phoenix questioned with a pointed look, most likely to reassure that all four of them were on the same page.

“Yes.” Raim was the only one who responded verbally, while he and Camio simply nodded in accord.

“See you on September 1st then.” That was the only warning Camio gave before disappearing in a flurry of black feathers.

* * *

Lily let out a huff, blowing a strand of her red hair away from her eyes, and pondered just where her best friend had been throughout the entirety of summer. She had visited his house every so often to properly apologize; yet, each of her attempt had been rebuffed somehow with every excuse imaginable by his parents. It seemed someone had memory charmed the two adults to think that Severus was not present at all – and strangely, she had not seen him anywhere in the town.

It was as if he disappeared from Cokeworth altogether.

Thus, when September 1st rolled around, she searched around the platform to locate him. She had to pause a moment to remember that his appearance had changed due to that incident by the lake. Nevertheless, it irked her that she did not see him at all despite her search.

She had, however, located her friends and the Marauders in one compartment. It surprised her that they had gotten along with one another, and that Potter and his friends seemed to be behaving. After she put away her trunk, with the help of Potter who strangely did not flirt with her, she took a seat across from Marlene.

“–Have any of you seen Snape?”

“I’ve been looking for him too.” She responded to the question from Sirius, who frowned at her reply. “I haven’t seen him around the town over the summer either. When I asked his parents for his whereabouts, they always gave me one reason or another.”

“Well, if you seen him, let him know that we’re looking for him.” That was all Potter said on the matter without giving her a chance to comment on it.

“So, I’m guessing he’s staying away from you, Lily, since you didn’t get a chance to apologize to him.” Marlene remarked with a raised brow.

“Yeah. I mean, he wanted me to tell him the reason for what I did, but he never gave me a chance to do so.” Lily frowned at the logic and huffed at the unfairness of her situation.

“Get off your high horse and see it from his perspective, Lily.” Marlene retaliated sharply with narrowed eyes. “I took time to reassess this situation over the summer. Suffice to say, I am ashamed to admit that I encouraged your judgement – you wanted him to stop with the Dark Arts without fully knowing his reason, and to stop being on friendly terms with his house mates and dorm mates simply because you rationalized that they are evil. Yet, when he gave his reasons for the things he did, you rejected it altogether. I don’t want to paint you as a bad friend, Lily, but you were being truly unfair to him. Dark does not always equate to evil. The world is not black and white, girl.”

Lily remained silent with a small frown, ignoring the fact that Sirius gave an impressed look at Marlene for that speech. She knew, in the back of her mind, that dark does not always mean evil and light does not always mean goodness. She knew and understood that; however, she could not accept that Severus had been enamored with those harmful dark spells and creating his own, or of the reason for him being on friendly terms with Avery and Mulciber.

“You do realize that he’d have to be friendly with them, don’t you? Those three share the same dorm, after all. Or would you rather he sleeps with one eye open for the whole seven years?” Sirius cut in through her thoughts with a pointed look at her direction. “My parents and Reggie gave me a thorough talk over the summer for what I had done and absolved any misconceptions I had. I supposed I should thank Snape that Reggie and I are on speaking and brotherly terms again.”

“On top of the lectures our parents did together? That’s harsh, man.” Potter added with a wry smirk and a head shake.

“It wasn’t proper decorum for the Heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to behave in such unruly manner.” Sirius replied in a near mocking manner, sounding as if he was copying what his mother had said. “Still, Reggie mentioned it’ll be a death wish if Snape openly defied older Slytherins. He’d have to be on guard all the time, especially when you also consider how beloved the Slytherin House is with other houses and the professors.”

“You have to take into the fact that everyone knew that you are his friend, and you haven’t received any backlash from Slytherins as well, Lily.” Peter added in a rare serious tone and heaved a sigh when she gave him a confused look in response. “Let’s put it simply: you’re a muggleborn. Pureblood Slytherins loathe muggleborn wizards and witches. Of course, there are purebloods from other houses who dislike muggleborns, but they don’t show that as prominently as the ones from Slytherins.”

“So, I’m guess you four have found a way to reimburse him for the damages you had done?” Alice interrupted and changed the topic altogether.

Remus nodded in answer with a small wry smile, and said, “We opened a vault in his name – now, we just have to give him the key and inform him to meet with the goblins to finalize everything.”

“Well, at least everything is going to wrap up nicely. It’d be nice to see that you four being on somewhat amicable terms with him. Maybe we won’t lose too many house points this term.” Mary commented with an eye roll.

"We're not going to be best mates or anywhere near close, but we won't antagonize him anymore." Potter simply ignored the open stare Lily directed at his direction in surprise. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still mulling over what to do with Lily.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re the one who summoned me and will be sacrificed to me.”
> 
> “Surely, this is a misunderstanding. I am unsure how you managed to enter into our wards, but Miss Evans is not one to summon otherworldly beings such as yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a long time for an update! Life and work has been hectic, especially with holidays - more work than life. I also gave in and bought myself Nintendo Switch just so I can get on the bandwagon among friends and co-workers to play Pokemon Sword/Shield.

Severus waved a hand over the door of a compartment he had chosen, wandlessly locking it with his demonic prowess, and covered his mouth with his other hand as he yawned. Sleep, for demons, were not a requirement but a luxury – one that he had indulged himself for past years. Still, to say it had been a busy summer for him would be the understatement of the decade – he spent every waking moment working with Raim to eradicate all documents and means the mortals had about summoning demons.

It astonished him that they found at least a dozen of such methods in Wizarding Britain alone. What more, half of those documentations and methodologies were in the hands of one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

It truly seemed the Headmaster was harboring some interesting secrets. Ones that the public would surely disapprove if words got out.

He heaved a sigh and took a seat in one of the empty seats, taking the time to shed his form as Severus Snape for his Seir one while he waited for the rest of his team. A knowing smirk made its way to his expression when he felt familiar presences in the premise. Within next several seconds, his teammates emerged from thin air as if it was normal occurrence to breeze through several wards the Hogwarts professors had put on the train.

“Well, I found the compartment where your mortal friend was. Lily Evans, was it? She’s looking for you.” Phoenix remarked while taking a seat across from him.

Seir gave an unimpressed look at that remark and opened his mouth to say what he thought about that when Raim and Camio teleported in. The two demons wordlessly took a seat across from him, looking regal and authoritative as if they owned the place, and waited for him to commence with the meeting.

“Thus far, we’ve demolished the documents about us, and the main ingredients required to summon us.” He declared with amusement laced in his tone when he remembered the shock Dumbledore had shown upon noticing the absence of chrysoberyl and moonstone from a small vault in the headmaster’s office.

“Well, Riddle had been in research mode to find out everything he could about us.” Camio informed with an unimpressed scoff and exaggerated eye roll. “It seems he has tapered off from his previous agenda of ruling over the Wizarding Britain after his meeting with Seir. It seemed you put a halt in his plan, but we will have to see what his next move will be, and whether he actually stops with pureblood propaganda.”

“That’s not our problem should that occurs.” Raim chimed in an uncaring manner. “We do not deal with problems amongst mortals.”

Phoenix simply hummed in response and gave an amused smirk, “Unless it involves with otherworldly beings, such as us.”

“Well, it is not every day that mortals summoned us.” Seir commented with an exaggerated sigh, thoroughly sounding as if this whole assignment tired him. “It is highly unusual that two mortals had the means to do so.”

“I found that Dumbledore isn’t as good and just as he made his image portended. I know Raim and Seir had a first-hand of it when they destroyed those records, but he had myriads of documents and materials regaling instructions on summoning us.” Phoenix gave a knowing look at the raised brows from Camio, and continued, “From what his phoenix told me, Dumbledore is desirous for fame and attention unto himself. His fame and glory for the defeat of previous Dark Lord, Grindelwald, was a mere fluke since they were best friends and presumably lovers. In addition, the phoenix mentioned that the birth of the current Dark Lord, Voldemort – also known as Tom Marvolo Riddle – was the works of Dumbledore.”

“From what I gathered,” Raim interjected with a solemn expression. “Dumbledore categorized Riddle was a bad influence and evil upon inviting him to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That only furthered when Riddle ended up in Slytherin House. His accumulated behaviors accentuated manipulations to ensure that Riddle would become the next Dark Lord.”

“So, what are we going to do? That is, if we are interfering with this.” Camio raised a quizzical brow.

Seir merely gave a smirk in response at the inquiry and gave them a knowing look.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore frowned minutely in his office, inwardly incensed at the fact that his documents for an important ritual had somehow disappeared. His mind whirled as he attempted to discover the person who dared to encroach on his privacy to snatch those papers – more importantly, how did this person knew about this?

“Fawkes, do you know who came here?” He finally decided to ask the phoenix, who merely thrilled in negative and resumed with the grooming practice.

He frowned at the response as he silently went through the list of people that stayed at Hogwarts over the summer break, and people who visited the institution in the past few days. Suffice to say, his list of people was very short, and he highly doubted they had the audacity to come inside his office to get those papers. From what he had noticed of them during this morning’s staff meeting, they did not look any different than usual, so he did not think any of them had taken those documents.

“So, who?” He voiced out loud with a frown.

At the very least, he had everything set up for the first ritual in the Great Hall – the only location with big enough space necessary for such thing – and he merely needed to place some drops of blood on the summoning circle. Once that is finished, everything he had worked for would begin to come together nicely.

“Albus, the students are arriving soon. What are you still doing in your office?” Minerva’s voice from the floo network had startled him out of his musing.

He snapped out of his musings and exited out of his office after he made sure that everything was in its place. Despite some minor setbacks, everything was in working order – he supposed he could take his memory and look into the details of the ritual via his Pensieve after the students had been sorted.

“Merely a minor inconvenience.” He murmured to no one in particular as he made his way to the Great Hall.

* * *

Lily pursed her lips into a frown when she noticed Severus sitting at the Slytherin table. She had not seen her best friend during the train ride or over the summer, so it was startling to see him after weeks of estrangement. To say he looked different would be the understatement of the century.

The first thing she noted was the state of his hair – that was to say, his hair and its style made him seemed like a model she had seen on Petunia’s fashion magazine. Another thing was his physique – even though he was wearing the school uniform, she could tell that he does not look undernourished anymore. He had filled out rather nicely in the few weeks that she had not seen him.

How could a few weeks change him that much?

“Well, we finally found Snape.” Marlene commented with an undignified amused snort hidden behind a cup of pumpkin juice. “And he looks mighty fine, if I say so myself.”

“Marlene!” Mary hissed in a scandalous tone.

“What? You’re thinking about it too.” Marlene replied with a pointed look and smirked at Mary’s flushed expression. “It looked like he had a busy summer, if you know what I mean.”

Lily turned her attention away from her friends’ conversation and diverted her attention back to her best friend, who looked to be ignoring his house mates and their attempts to converse with him.

“We still need to give him the key.” James remarked rather calmly as if he was talking about a nonsensical topic.

“Rather interesting how different he looks.” Sirius added nonchalantly with a small frown. “Not to mention, his aura. Can you feel it, guys?”

Remus hummed in agreement, and said, “It’s rather hard to miss. I could feel it from all the way here. The way he holds himself has changed as well – he is more confident in himself.”

“I just hope he won’t ignore me again.” Lily sighed as she grabbed a steak knife to cut the chicken.

Her gripe slipped with her lack of attention and she somehow poked herself with its sharp end, drawing some blood from its wound.

“Ouch, you have to be careful, Lily. That looks painful.” Mary winced upon seeing the wound and handed her some napkins so that she would stop dripping blood over the floor.

“Do you need to go to Madam Pomfrey?” Alice asked with furrowed brows.

She bit the bottom of her lips as she put some pressure on the wound while she dabbed the napkins to wipe away the blood. As much as she loathed to admit, it was her fault her mind was not on her task; but thankfully, the wound did not look deep and would heal in a couple of days.

“I’ll go afterwards. I don’t want to just get up and leave.” She answered with a tight smile.

She then grabbed some more napkins and wrapped it around her cut. It would take some getting used to using only one hand until she could see the matron after the feast.

* * *

Severus exhaled deeply as he let out an annoyed twitch when he felt a certain magic strumming in the air. He knew with certainty that Dumbledore had written the summoning ritual before he and Raim completely obliterated anything related to it. Yet, here was one summoning circle, currently active, that they decided to leave to teach a lesson to Dumbledore and anyone else who dared to try.

“What an annoyance.” He murmured under his breath and ignored the confused looks from Regulus sitting next to him.

He mutely relaxed his posture and took a long sip from his glass of water, inwardly readying himself for what was to come.

He had expected the summoning ritual to be under the Gryffindor table considering Dumbledore was the Head of the Lions years prior. He found it ironic that Lily, of all people, had completed the ritual with her blood even if it was accidental.

He did not bother to blink when a magical doorway materialized in the middle of Great Hall, nor when the other students began to panic at the sight of a large hand appeared and held the doorway.

Severus never thought he’d reveal his identity in this manner. He had expected to withhold that piece of information longer, but that plan went awry quicker than he would have liked. Even though he could easily sit back and allow the event to play itself for his amusement, the cleanup thereafter would be time consuming and he simply does not have the time or energy for such things.

So, here they are… seconds away revealing to these mortals his demon status. That should be interesting.

“What the hell is going?” One Gryffindor screamed out at the sight of a giant hand.

“Who dared to summon me, Crom Cruach?”

A raspy voice rang out throughout the premise, and moments later, a giant red lizard with white stripes and yellow eyes appeared amid startled and terrified screams.

Severus stared passively as the yellow eyes of the summoned demon scanned the frightened faces of the students. It amused him that a lower leveled demon would go through great lengths in attempts obtain a humanoid form, something only those above president ranks have.

“You…” The lizard demon hissed when its eyes landed on Lily, who froze in her terrified state. “You’re the one who summoned me and will be sacrificed to me.”

“W-what! I – I – I didn’t… I’m not…”

Whatever the beast was going to say abruptly halted when the professors managed to regain their wits and threw several hexes and jinxes. The lizard demon, despite being one of the lowest ranked ones, was much stronger than humans – even to ones with magical abilities. Hence, it did not surprise him in the slightest when a simple claw wave unleashed an unsuspecting gust of wind that knocked over the professors.

“Surely, this is a misunderstanding.” Dumbledore interjected with a frown with eyes narrowing at the lizard. “I am unsure how you managed to enter into our wards, but Miss Evans is not one to summon otherworldly beings such as yourself.”

Severus simply raised a brow at the insinuation and opted to keep the comment that was on top of his tongue. This was neither the time nor the place to have that discussion. Instead, his eyes flicked over to the lizard, who hissed in annoyance at the lecture.

“Human, one does not summon beings like us on accident.” The amused tone of the lizard irked him even if he agreed with the crude word choices.

He continued to look on passively when Lily squeaked frighteningly at the sudden attention from the lizard demon, who hissed out, “So, human, who do you want me to kill?”

“Kill?” Lily’s voice rose several octaves higher even when she stammered out that word. “I don’t want to kill anyone!”

Severus heaved another sigh at the scene, which he would have continued to watch longer if he was not bored of the conversation already. Wordlessly, he stood up from his seat, despite vehement quiet protests from Regulus about the danger of his decision, and strode purposefully towards Crom Cruach.

It was high time he instilled discipline in lower leveled demons.

“So, you’re the fool who decided to answer to human’s summoning this time. Interesting.” He commented flatly with a scoff, easily dismissing everyone’s inquisitive stares. “Crom Cruach, formerly known as the God of Fertility for the Irish isles. However, you’ve fallen from your grace in less than a year due to your greed. Now, your powers are waning because no humans will sacrifice themselves to be granted their wish. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”

He knew the mocking smirk he directed at the demon merely flamed that ire.

“I will strike you down where you stand, human!”

“You dare to challenge me? You forget your place, you pathetic fool.” He retaliated blithely with a sneer that was reminiscent of his disguise.

* * *

Sirius watched with undisguised curiosity upon hearing Snape cut the lizard beast with mere words, if only because of the confidence the Slytherin exuded. He could not help but wonder if Snape was doing this because of Lily, or because of something else entirely.

“You will be the first to go then, human, and become an example of everyone here.”

The beast remarked, making it sound as if they were snacks. However, the smirk that curled and etched on the corner of Snape’s lips made him think that this was part of a grand plan of some sort.

“It is indeed a shame that you do not realize you are speaking to a Prince.”

Sirius blinked in confusion, most likely along with everyone else, silently wondering why the Slytherin’s mother surname before she married had to do with this. In a surreal manner, that confident gaze and gait did not falter even when the lizard demon moved to grab Snape.

The startled and horrified shouts did nothing to halt the demon – in fact, from his spot, he saw Snape minutely raised a quizzical brow in an almost amused manner.

“Being a Prince won’t save you from me!”

Snape didn’t flinch when the large hand was mere inches away and simply stared with narrowed eyes, almost in concentration. Yet, he had no idea what the Slytherin needed for concentration because there was no wand whipped out.

“What the hell? Is it just me or has the temperature suddenly dropped?” James questioned with furrowed brows and clattering teeth.

“It’s freezing!” Frank exclaimed while fumbling to take out his wand to cast a warming spell. “It’s still freezing even with warming spell!”

Sirius redirected his attention towards Snape, who simply swept a hand in a flourish manner that he didn’t realize the Slytherin was capable of doing. He blinked in confusion when the temperature suddenly warmed and he vaguely saw a sheer sheen of what it seemed like a shield before him and everyone else in the premise.

“You think I fear you?” Snape uttered mockingly with a sneer and promptly ignored the shouts from the professors to cease this behavior. “You are nothing but an insect, who prey on innocent humans. The Kings have spoken, and their judgment calls forth for destruction of anyone who dared to answer to humans’ summons. I am here to carry out that order.”

He looked at his friends in confusion at that remark from Snape – the wordings made it seemed like the Slytherin was not human. Frankly, he found that strange, on top of Snape being able to cast spells in wandless and silent manner.

“Just what is going on?” Marlene uttered in a loud whisper, trying her best not to disturb the somber atmosphere.

“Y-you’re! You’re one of!” The lizard demon stammered in a stunned manner and hastily backed away in an attempt to get away from Snape.

“I’m your worst nightmare.” The Slytherin answered coolly with a smirk and flicked a wrist towards the escaping demon.

Ice immediately materialized on the floor and encased the demon’s limbs almost instantaneously, all the while Snape ignored blabbering threats from the demon about bringing forth an army for revenge.

“Since when could Snape do wandless and silent casting like that? And who are the Kings he speaks of?” Peter questioned in an incredulous tone with eyes widened in surprise.

No one had an answer to that – not even a theory on how that was viable, especially when there was a life-threatening situation before them.

“Your Highness, please have mercy!” The lizard demon blabbed almost incoherently, which would have been believable if it were not for maniacal glints in those yellow eyes.

Snape apparently seemed it does not require a response and merely tilted his head with a raised brow.

Ice, once more, instantaneously materialized out of nowhere and encased the lizard’s whole body ruthlessly without any room for breathing. It then traveled to the semi-transparent doorway in which the lizard entered from and covered it as if it was a tangible object. With a seemingly graceful flick of a hand, both ice sculptures shattered into myriads of small pieces that rained down in the Great Hall and turned the room a beautiful winter scenery.

A quiet dismissive scoff suddenly seemed loud amid stunned silent room, and all Snape uttered was, “There is no mercy for greedy fools. And Headmaster, you are contending with powers beyond your comprehension.”

Sirius gulped when he noticed the hard yet cold look on Dumbledore’s face, and heard, “Yet, you seemed to know what this is, Mr. Snape, and had the ability to eliminate the threat. Just what are you hiding, Mr. Snape?

“Mayhap I am hiding something. Wouldn’t you like to know?”

However, Snape did not bother to clarify that statement and gave an infuriating smirk that was reminiscent of his character before he left the room.

Just what was Snape hiding?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore makes his move, and it doesn't seem to be a wise one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I very reluctantly went to a holiday party that my work hosted even though I was sick. I like my coworkers, so that was the main reason I went - after all, everyone had went and it would be bad if I didn't go. So, I went and watched everyone made a fool of themselves on the dance floor. That was fun and interesting... almost as interesting as the weird man-octopus statue I saw in the restroom. Yes, there was a weird man-octopus statue in the restroom. Then there was a raffle at the end of the party. I won one of the prizes. It made up for the bad food and music I had to put up with throughout that night. 
> 
> Then I got sick AGAIN... just when I got better for at least couple of days. Just this month alone, I was sick on and off - because working with kids, one needs an immune system of steel, which I apparently do not have, or be in a marshmallow suit all the time to fend of all sorts of bacteria. 
> 
> There was also the fact that I got stuck in the middle of the chapter about the direction this story was going. Well, happy holidays, everyone. Enjoy the update!

To be utterly and completely truthful, Lily still could not wrap her mind around what had transpired in the Great Hall two weeks ago. None of the professors had an explanation for the existence of Demon Summoning Circle placed underneath the Gryffindor table, nor the reason why her blood had summoned a demon.

Alice had suggested that perhaps the blood of a maiden was the cause, but it could not be as simple as that, could it?

Furthermore, Severus’s actions in its entirety perplexed her to no bounds. She wanted to know how he was able to do wandless ice magic, how he knew about the lizard demon, and about the Kings that he briefly mentioned in his conversation that the aforementioned demon. Yet, she had neither seen or heard of him since that debacle in the Great Hall.

Hence, the reason why she and her friends had decided to gather in the library to ascertain the whole mystery surrounding him and the demon she had somehow summoned.

“There’s not a lot of resources about demons.” Mary commented while closing a thick book she had been perusing. “This book mentioned everything Snape said about Crom Cruach. It also mentioned that there is a hierarchy of sorts in the demon world – Kings, followed by Duke, Prince, Marquise, Count, and President as the royalty and S-Ranks. Those below them are ranked from A to E, with E as the lowest.”

“The demon royals are the only ones with elemental prowess, and they are split to rule the cardinal directions, with the Kings as the one everyone referred to. Considering Snape mentioned being a Prince and his display of ice manipulation, I highly speculate that he is one of the Princes. From what I remembered about the strange symbol you mentioned during our train ride at the beginning of summer, Lily, I think I know his identity now.” Marlene continued with a small frown and pursed lips.

“Who is it, Marlene?” Lily looked over curiously as she finally closed the book she was investigating.

“It’s his secret and considering the fact that he has not revealed it to you, I’m not sure if I should mention it.”

Lily gave an annoyed look in response and huffed. She had no idea why her friend would keep this information from her, considering they were investigating this together.

“So, what you are saying is that Snape is a demon royalty.” Alice concluded with a small thoughtful frown. “Then, my question is, why is he posing as one of us? Or why he would put up with Potter and the other Marauders bullying him.”

“Maybe he can answer some questions we have when we talk to him. That is, if he would let us.” Mary remarked with a sigh.

* * *

Severus heaved a deep sigh as he continued by the large window in the Astronomy tower, the only place where he could be alone without the Marauders or Lily and her friends tailing him. Then again, he supposed the only reason they have yet to catch up to him was because of his demonic ability to get from one place to another in a blink of an eye – teleportation, to put it very bluntly.

It had been three weeks since the so-called showdown in the Great Hall. To say it was awkward since then would be vast understatement – he had no idea how to handle measured glances from fellow peers and faculties, especially when he knew that he had yet to obtain permission from his Kings to reveal it to them.

Not that he wanted to reveal the existence of demons to these mortals, knowing that they would simply label him as a dark creature. Additionally, it made him wary that a certain Headmaster had yet to call him to the office to discuss what had transpired in the Great Hall.

“– And as such, I fear he is conspiring something of great importance. I also believe he is the mastermind behind the occurrence to make the planes between the mortal and ours merge, Your Majesty.” He concluded his report to his King via a misty mirror-like portal he created with his powers.

_“Continue watching Dumbledore, Seir. You have my permission to mobilize your legions should he calls forth another demon or if he does anything to offset the balance in the mortal world. Mortals have no reason to summon and control us. We may have sealed the doorways between these two worlds, but there may be a handful who have the powers to traverse between worlds. Mercilessly obliterate them should that happened.”_

“Understood, my liege.” He answered with a slight bow and gave an unnoticeable gesture to indicate the presences of uninvited guests attempting to eavesdrop on them.

His King then disconnected the communication with a solemn nod, and silent reigned the premise once more. With a quiet sigh, he glanced at the full moon lighting up the night sky, not that it mattered for him aside from an increase he received for his abilities if he needed it and turned to leave.

He paused half a step away from the door to say, “Curfew is in half an hour,” to his eavesdroppers, who finally decided to undo the disillusionment spell.

“How did you know we were here? When did you know we were here?”

No one bothered to answer Black's surprised inquiries.

“Sev. We’ve been trying to talk to you.” He did not bother to say anything, so Lily plowed on. “Why didn’t you tell us that you’re a demon yourself?”

“Is there a reason why I need to bare my secrets to you?” He returned with a question of his own.

“You used to tell me everything.” Lily remarked with a disapproving frown. “You’ve changed so much that I don’t know you anymore.”

Severus merely raised a brow and scoffed at the so-called lecture, “The world, magical or otherwise, is not black and white, Miss Evans. Had I revealed my true identity to you, I believe you would categorize me as a dark creature simply because I am a demon, without knowing the details.”

“I… I wouldn’t… I really wouldn’t have…”

“We figured out you are a demon royalty, Snape.” Alice bravely interjected with furrowed brows, and continued upon noticing his pointed look, “But how… why are you posing as a student here?”

“Initially, it was boredom.” He answered with a shrug and leaned against the stone wall, knowing that this would be a long conversation. He dismissed the startled expressions at his revelation and continued, “But now… you better hope that your Headmaster and a certain Dark Lord doesn’t dare to continue to summon demons unto this mortal plane. If I were you, I’d worry about what your Headmaster is conspiring than the Dark Lord. Regardless, you will never win if my Kings decided to wage war against the mortals for needlessly enslaving demons.”

“It didn’t seem that difficult to eliminate that lizard demon. You made it extremely easy.” Black pointed out with a frown.

“Black, it was as easy as breathing for me to eliminate him.” Severus replied in a dry tone and heaved a sigh at the confused countenances he received in return. Henceforth, he decided to elaborate, “If I had opted to sit back and let you handle him by yourselves, you would’ve easily become his snacks. That lizard may have been on lowest totem of our ranks, but none of your spells did anything to harm him, if you could recall the incident.”

Potter gave a thoughtful hum at the statement and uttered, “There was another sudden coldness and some sort of shield as well. I have no idea where those came from.”

Severus smirked at the comment and gave a mocking smile at the Marauder, “Very good, Potter. At least you remembered something important from it.”

He ignored the surprised look from Potter at the praise and the indignant expression from Lily as he looked at the group with seriousness for the next part of explanation.

“You, at the very least, know my status and my sigil.” He began with a sharp look at the group, daring them to confess, which they did with various forms of nods. He ignored Longbottom’s utterance of, “Seir, right?”, and continued with his speech, “What you had seen me do in the Great Hall that day was not even one percent of my full prowess. If a war waged between my world and yours, you have no hope of surviving – and do not hope that I will be fighting alongside you. I will not betray my Kings or my fellow comrades.”

“If you could easily stop these summoning rituals then, why didn’t you?” Lily questioned with a frown, looking as if she was trying to wrap her mind around the information he gave.

“Why would I?” Severus rebutted with a raised brow and smirked at the indignant sputter he received. “While I may have received permission from my Kings to eliminate the fools imprudent enough to answer to humans summoning them, there is no reason for me to resolve whatever issues that arises with summoning demons into your plane. In short, why should I waste my time and resources for you when there is no merit for me?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do, Sev!”

“Is it?” He retorted smoothly in a calm tone despite the spitfire image Lily possessed. “What is happening right now – the sudden influx of demons summoned through various rituals – is due to human greed for power and status. I am neither good nor evil, Miss Evans, and I have no love for humans despite the years we’ve been friends. The only persons I answer to is my Kings, as I've mentioned before.”

No one dared to utter a word after that, and Severus dismissed the disappointed look Lily shot at his direction. Once a upon of time, it might had made him feel guilty and he would have done anything to ratify that, but that day had long passed.

“Oh yeah, Snape. We opened a vault for you and replaced everything we had destroyed financially.” Potter interrupted, changing the topic without a preamble, while holding a key at his direction.

Severus simply hummed in understanding and accepted the object, pocketing it wordlessly.

“You can’t just abandon us, Sev.” Lily insisted firmly, turning the conversation back to the previous topic.

“Abandon?” He scoffed incredulously in disbelief, and continued relentlessly, “Your problems are yours to resolve. Unless you wish to make a contract with me, I have no obligations to help you beyond what my Kings ordered.”

“Let’s not go there, Seir.”

Severus gave a small smirk at a familiar voice and flicked a glance over to the group when they jumped in startled. He looked over to a dark corner of the premise, noticing the sudden shift of the shadow before a figure emerged from it.

“Raim. Do not scare the fragile mortals.” He chided in a mild tone despite the amused smirk dancing on his lips. “I presume you have news?”

From the corner of his eyes, he noted that Lily and Alice were gawking at Raim – Lily more so than Alice. The Marauders, on the other hand, looked utterly confused as how his fellow demon was able to appear on this location. They looked at Raim and the location he appeared from repeatedly to try to decipher how that was possible.

“It appears your Headmaster had created another ritual in the Chamber of Secrets.” Raim informed casually with a disapproving sigh. “My resources revealed that it is to enslave you, Seir. It appears he figured out your identity.”

Severus narrowed his eyes in an annoyed manner at the report, and let out a dark malicious smirk, “He will get a taste of my abilities then.”

“Shall I have your troops on standby then, my Prince?”

“Please do.”

* * *

In the midst of attending classes and homework, especially the dreaded potions essays, Sirius had forgotten about the Chamber of Secrets… until he saw the Headmaster, whom he had not seen for past few days, in the Great Hall.

The long-bearded man was openly frowning at the Slytherin table, particularly at Snape, who surprisingly looked unbothered by the stare and the subtle confusion from others nearby. If anything, the slight smirk Sirius noted belayed the Slytherin’s amusement of the whole thing.

Whatever thoughts he had dashed when Dumbledore stood up, uttering words unheard to him and everyone, until he heard the declaration of, “Reveal thyself and bound unto me, Seir!” with magic laced in that tone.

An elaborate magic circle – a Faustian circle, his mind corrected – shot out from Dumbledore’s wand and headed straight to where Snape was sitting. An alarmed cries and shouts intermixed in the midst of panicked disarray of other students, which, interestingly, contrasted against the lone Slytherin’s calm demeanor. Those nearby Snape immediately scattered from the spots in their haste to avoid getting caught in the Faustian circle.

“Albus! What are you doing?” Professor McGonagall all but shouted alarmingly.

Sirius frowned when the Headmaster did not bother with a response and wandlessly stopped the other professors’ attempts to cast a shield around Snape. The miniscule gleeful expression that no one seemed to notice on Dumbledore was rather disturbing, if he had to be truthful.

“Interesting how you finally decided to disclose your true self unto everyone, Headmaster.” Snape finally stood up and waved a hand, not bothering to take out the wand and easily demolished the Faustian circle as if it was a first year’s spell work. “You must be desperate if you are resorting to using Faustian contract laced with compulsion. Furthermore, it is rather interesting that you wish to form a contract with me.”

“What’s a Faustian contract?” Lily interjected in a low whisper, sounding utterly lost and shocked by what just transpired.

“It is a contract whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, something like personal values or one’s soul, for otherworldly benefits, such as knowledge, power, or riches. Basically, a bargain with the devil.” Sirius answered in a grave tone without looking away from Snape.

“Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return, Headmaster.” The Slytherin declared in a calm tone, as if this was a discussion on a mundane topic. “To obtain such thing, something of equal value must be lost. You wish to obtain my prowess on your side for your war, correct? What will you be willing to cede in return?”

“I am the Leader of the Light.” Dumbledore stated firmly in a righteous tone with narrowed eyes. “There is no need for me to forfeit anything, Mr. Snape. If anything, you should rejoice at the fact that I am willing to forgive your past actions and allow you to atone yourself under my guidance. Surrender yourself to me.” 

It was a true testament of Snape’s willpower and composure that the Slytherin did not even wince or twitch when the Headmaster mockingly said his name. If it had been Sirius, he would have… well, he would have been expelled for assaulting the Headmaster.

“How laughable that you believe yourself to be almighty.” The Slytherin uttered in a low tone that was surprisingly loud enough for all to hear. “You will lose in a heartbeat if war engaged between you and I.” 

“You are nothing but a dark creature, Mr. Snape. Or shall I say, Seir?” Dumbledore retaliated with his wand tip still pointed at the Slytherin student. “I knew there was a reason why I disliked you the moment I laid my eyes on you.”

“Albus! What are you doing pointing your wand on one of our students!” Professor Flitwick demanded with furrowed brows and disapproving eyes. “I am utterly appalled by your behavior. More so, when you accused Mr. Snape for being a dark creature!”

“Filius, he is a dark creature.” The Headmaster responded, sounding as if explaining to a child. “Mr. Snape here is a demon himself.”

Sirius redirected his gaze back to Snape, who simply stood silently and looked unfazed amid quizzical gazes from other students and professors. He had to applaud for the nerve of steel Snape had to withstand those judging gazes – if it were him, he would’ve run out of the room at the first chance available.

“That’s Prince Seir to you, mortal.” Snape replied smoothly and took a step away from the Slytherin table.

He blinked multiple times just to ensure that he was not seeing things. The instant Snape took that step, the Slytherin’s entire visage changed – the short non-greasy black hair he had just gotten used to seeing was now long and straight, and the onyx colored eyes he saw were now ruby red eyes. The aura these changes brought nearly balked him when it reminded him of being before a royalty.

“So, you do admit that you yourself is a demon.” Dumbledore declared triumphantly with a smirk.

“I’ve never denied it.” Snape – no, Seir answered with boredom laced in that tone, and approached the Headmaster with ominous footsteps that echoed throughout the room. “Now, how dare you to compel me to do your bidding as if I am nothing but a pawn to your game? I answer to no one but my Kings!”

“Then you, dark creature, have no place amongst us.” The Headmaster asserted firmly with a disapproving frown.

Sirius gulped nervously when he noted the chilling look in Seir’s eyes and took a step back, only to realize that there was nowhere else to go in his seat. He had no idea what Dumbledore was attempting here, especially by angering a demon royalty with ice manipulation abilities – he still remembered how the Great Hall suddenly chilled last time.

“I shall relish when I bring forth your downfall, Dumbledore. You have no station in determining who lives and who does not.” Seir retaliated coldly with a biting smirk and continued mockingly. “Your Ministry will certainly hail you as hero for bringing forth another war. A war that you will not win.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking of changing the title, but haven't had an idea as to what... even though I am tentatively thinking 'Demon Amid Us'. I shall have to ponder on this some more. Ideas are definitely welcomed!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things escalated between a certain headmaster and a certain demon prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. Life had been hectic in terms of work and obligations. I went snowboarding with a group of friends over the holidays, and suffice to say, I ended up falling smack on my tailbone. Took about three weeks or so to heal, and I couldn't sit down or bend down without hurting myself. Let's not even mention driving - those jolts from uneven road, speed bumps, dips, etc. were painful on the injury. 
> 
> I changed the title to 'Demon Amongst Us', it felt more fitting than I previously had.

To say Sirius was nervous would be an understatement of the century. He had no idea that Snape – no, Seir – would be utterly ruthless, especially when the demon prince mercilessly tore through Dumbledore with mere words in front of everyone. Yet, when he really thought about this whole matter, it shouldn’t have surprised him. If he was a demon prince, he, too, would be thoroughly incensed that a mere mortal attempted to control him before the public. More than that, he didn’t think that his Headmaster would deign so low as to use a Faustian Contract in combination with compulsion spell at the demon prince before everyone.

He would even dare to say that it was an utterly reckless gamble. One that the Headmaster had no chance to win whatsoever, considering the little information he knew about Seir’s prowess and the information about Faustian Contract. He could only imagine what would happen if Seir indeed summoned an army in retaliation. In fact, he had a sneaking feeling that Seir could annihilate the Headmaster without so much as lifting a finger but was merciful enough to not do so.

Which was why, he could only shake his head in dismay when Dumbledore recklessly summoned another summoning circle to bring forth an army of demons. It was rather alarming to know that the Headmaster had an army of demons hidden away, more so than the awareness of the Headmaster having the knowledge to summon demons or that the elder wizard had no qualms to call upon them in front of students.

“Oh boy…”

“What in the world!” One of the Slytherin students exclaimed alarmingly.

“My father will hear about this!” Another student, Nott, if he remembered correctly, declared.

Sirius dared a glance at Seir, who looked mightily unimpressed by the whole garner and merely flicked a wrist to cast a protective shield around everyone but Dumbledore. The sheer ease of casting multiple shields astounded him – he was positive that it would be an exhausting feat, but the demon prince looked utterly at ease and looked unbothered by the whole ordeal.

“You’re outmatched and outclassed, mortal.” Seir spat with a sneer that was reminiscent of Snape. “You wish to bring forth war between our races? I will gladly inform my Kings of your desire, but all of mortals' deaths will be on your hands. Think you can handle their bloods in your hands? And just to inform you how outclassed you are, I alone have 26 legions in my army awaiting my command. Still think you can win?”

“26 legions? How many…?” Lily asked in a loud whisper with furrowed brows.

“There are about 5000 in a legion, from what I know of about Roman army. But I’m not sure if he followed that guideline, or if he’s referring to another.” Another Gryffindor answered from across the table.

Sirius blanched when he did the mental math to calculate the amount in Seir’s army. He highly doubted the wizarding world could withstand that when, not if,_ when_ the demon prince rained down his wrath simply from Dumbledore’s sheer stupidity of attempting to control a demon prince. He had a sneaking feeling that the fact that Seir was neutral – neither good nor bad – did not matter in this case.

“I am the regaled as the Greatest Wizard of all times!” the Headmaster declared in a seething tone with anger clearly shown on that normally grandfatherly expression. “You will submit yourself to me for the Greater Good, dark creature!”

“Albus, what in the blazes are you doing?” Professor McGonagall demanded with a shocked look. “Are you hearing yourself?”

“We have other students’ safety to think about!” Professor Flitwick added with narrowed eyes. “You should be ashamed of yourself for endangering them in the first place. I highly doubt the Board of Governors will appreciate the danger you’ve placed the students in.”

Sirius blocked out the nervous chatters of his schoolmates, the bickering professors who attempted to make the Headmaster see logic, and shifted his focus towards Seir, who simply raised an unimpressed brow at Dumbledore’s antics. He had no idea what the former Slytherin was thinking or planning, but he undoubtedly knew changes were coming – ones that the Headmaster would disapprove of, if that small smirk etched on the corner of Seir’s lips were anything to go by.

“Me, submit to you?” Seir’s mocking retaliation cut through various conversations in the room, reigning silence upon the room once more. Furthermore, the unimpressed look on the demon prince made quite a few students gulp nervously.

He had to admit, it was mightily impressive if it weren’t for the fact that he, too, feared the outcome of this altercation… if he could call it that. He would dare to say that this was an utter decimation for Dumbledore because he knew that Seir had the ability and prowess to annihilate the Headmaster without lifting a finger.

“Diffindo!”

That was the only warning everyone received as he saw a familiar charm that he and other students learned in their second year headed towards Seir.

He gaped at the Headmaster for the older man’s sheer audacity to start a fight in the presence of students and had to ponder if Dumbledore’s logic had not been compromised. It was a prime example of why other Houses called Gryffindors reckless, and for once, he did not feel any pride whatsoever for being in Gryffindor.

Nevertheless, he was glad that Seir had the foresight to cast shields around other students, especially when the demon prince deflected the assault with mere flick of a wrist and the severing charm bounced off one of the shields.

Sirius wetted his lips nervously when chilling silence reigned the room. In fact, no one dared to utter a word, even Dumbledore who seethed at the notion that the attack was rebuffed rather easily.

“You are rather foolish, mortal, for the positions you uphold.” The cold yet cultured voice of the demon prince sliced through the stillness that blanketed the room. “As both Headmaster and Leader of the Light, it is appalling that you would dare to jeopardize the future generations of your population. Your intransigence will penalize you one day should you continue to be this foolishly reckless. Unlike my comrades, you should be thankful that I am willing to release you with a warning and will not deem your transgression as an act of war against my brethren.”

The sharp tone and unforgiving gaze halted any protests and rebellious actions Dumbledore may have. With another sharp glare at the Headmaster, who faltered and fidgeted uneasily in spot, Seir turned around and headed towards the doors.

Just seconds before the doors closed, Sirius (and perhaps, others in the room) noticed that the ethereal grace and authoritative presence of the demon prince seamlessly morphed into one of Severus Snape.

It was an awe-inducing and frightening experience to witness such event, if he had to be truthful.

* * *

Tom Marvolo Riddle never thought it would come to this when he had formulated plans to conquer and revolutionize the Wizarding World when he was still a student at Hogwarts. Or when he found rituals to summon a demon who could help him with his plans. As much as he loathed to admit it, all his carefully constructed plans had been discarded upon meeting Prince Seir.

He had no regrets whatsoever when he decided to discard his ambition to rule over the Wizarding World, considering the alternative. He might not like the causes leading up to this decision; however, he accepted it as graciously as he possibly could after an eye-opening conversation with a demon prince.

He gulped down the uneasiness he felt in his spine and dared to glance behind him – he could have sworn someone had been tailing and observing him for the past few days. Yet, he did not see anyone whenever he browsed around the premise, and he was utterly positive that he was not hallucinating.

“What are the chances that someone from the demon world was keeping an eye on me?” He frowned thoughtfully as he placed a carton of eggs in his shopping basket.

“Well, I have to applaud you for your thinking. No one would have made that connection, and it only took you a handful of weeks.”

A startled yell half-escaped from Tom’s mouth before a hand muffled it and he stood rigidly as various thoughts crossed through his mind. From the reflection of the dairy refrigerated door, he saw an unearthly ethereal being with dark green wavy hair and amusement glinting in those hazel eyes. This being withheld the same unapproachable yet authoritative aura that Prince Seir had, and somehow, he got the feeling that this was another demon.

“We don’t want busybodies to find us, do we?”

Tom shook his head and inhaled large gulps of air when the demon finally released him. He then gasped out, “Who are you?”

“Camio, President of the Night.” The amused aura rolling off the demon did not quench the weariness he suddenly felt. “Now, what in the world are you planning, Tom Marvolo Riddle, with those eggs, chicken, leafy vegetables, and rubber gloves?”

“I’m grabbing grocery. Don’t tell me that’s taboo.” He replied in a deadpanned tone.

The demon merely hummed in understanding, looking more amused than it was possible, and continued, “Do you still plan to summon us – other demons – for your Wizarding World conquest?”

Tom blinked in surprised at the sudden change in questioning before he looked at the demon, whose serious expression left him speechless for a couple of seconds. He quickly snapped out of his stupor and answered, “No. I originally performed dark rituals to create Horcruxes, thinking that it was a path to immortality; however, Prince Seir made me realize that was not the case. He had even repaired the damages I had done to my soul. As a price for his deed, I made a promise to him that I would not summon his brethren and I intend to keep that promise.”

Camio simply raised a brow and looked somewhat impressed by his response, “Well, at least we won’t need to keep an eye on you anymore.”

“What?”

“What are your plans, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He frowned at the change of inquiry, but answered nevertheless, “I intend to live away from the Wizarding World as much as I can, if that’s what you’re asking. They would consider me an enemy if they knew me, and I have too much self-preservation to put myself through that. I believe the reason I headed down that path was because of Dumbledore and his orchestration – he did label me as evil the instant he told me my wizard status.”

Camio hummed in understanding, but he did not bother to elaborate the meaning behind that. Instead, the demon commented, “If that is the case then, my advice is it will be beneficial for you to remain away from the Wizarding World. Judging from how things had transpired in the last few days, I believe it will only be a matter time before a war brewed between your race and mine… all thanks to Dumbledore.”

“What!”

Confusion does not even cover what he felt from that explanation. It astounded him that someone else would dare to take the mantle of the ‘Dark Lord’, just when he opted to discard his role as one. Furthermore, it left him speechless that Dumbledore would be the one to do.

“My Kings are wholly unimpressed with him, considering the foolish mortal dared to attack my prince.”

He then made a mental note to grab a newspaper the next time he visited Diagon Alley.

* * *

“I have to admit, that scene kept replaying in mind every time I closed my eyes. Not that I like him or anything! Snape… err… Seir was terrifying.”

Sirius looked over to Peter, who was trying to hide underneath the school robe in meager attempt to stay warm despite the sunny weather. He opted not to say anything as he mulled over that statement – he could have easily poked fun at Peter for that loaded remark, but truthfully, he was not in the mood to be playful.

Additionally, he had no idea what the demon prince was truly capable of. No one genuinely does, except for the demon prince himself.

Even though it had been a week after that infamous confrontation and revelation in the Great Hall, the Hogwarts Gossip Mill remained thoroughly occupied with topics from that incident, Seir, Snape, or sometimes all three altogether. It was strange how others differentiated Snape and Seir as two different beings. He speculated it was due to different personalities of the two, but he was not entirely positive – they were one and the same after all. However, no one dared to utter a comment about any of these when in the presence of Snape… not that the mentioned Slytherin remained long to answer the questions.

In fact, the only times he and his friends had seen the Slytherin student were for classes or at times, in the passing hallways.

“It is rather astonishing that our Headmaster would resort to doing such things.” James commented somberly. “I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that he was going to perform a Faustian Contract without doing an equivalent exchange.”

“Or the fact that he would do a Faustian Contract in the first place.” Remus added with a frown. “I think our saving grace was that Prince Seir believed it was beneath him to be bound with our ‘esteemed’ Headmaster.”

“That, and it is rather insulting to bind myself with a foolish mortal like him.”

Sirius admittedly jumped in startled at the sudden voice and ignored his friends’ startled cries in attempt to locate the voice. He then looked up to see an utterly amused expression on Snape, who was sitting on a thick branch of the tree with a nondescript book in hand. It was rather strange to see the Slytherin student out in the open, more so when he thought that the other was avoiding crowds for the past few days.

“What do you mean foolish?” James questioned with pursed lips to belay the confusion.

At one point, he knew his best friend would have felt insulted when others questioned Dumbledore. The Potters were of the Light, and James’ parents undoubtedly followed Dumbledore; as such, he knew James followed in his parents’ footsteps and followed Dumbledore. However, he knew that recent dealings had left his best friend questioning the truth.

He blinked in surprise when Snape seemingly appeared next to him while Peter cried in surprised once more. How could one apparate within Hogwarts…?

“Your Headmaster believed he could control me with Faustian Contract.” The Slytherin student answered with a sniff, looking as if the mere thought was disgusting. “What do you know of Faustian Contract?”

“It is a contract whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, something like personal values or one’s soul, for otherworldly benefits, such as knowledge, power, or riches.” Sirius repeated the explanation he gave to Lily.

“Dumbledore wasn’t willing to do an equivalent exchange.” Remus added with disapproval.

Snape nodded in approval and heaved a deep sigh, “Correct. He wanted my services without paying the price, so to speak.”

“Would you have accepted if he did make an equivalent exchange?” Peter asked bravely without a wavering gaze.

“No.”

The curt answer surprised Sirius, who sharply looked the demon prince whose gaze remained fixated on the sky above them. He continued to stare the Slytherin student, silently wheedling for an explanation, and inwardly cheered when he received an exasperated sigh from the other.

“There is nothing Dumbledore could have given me in exchange for the immortality that he wanted. For something that high of a price, he would have to forfeit his soul, and that would be contradictory. I have no desire to be bounded to him for eternity.”

He and the rest of Marauders openly gaped at the answer they received. Whatever words he was about to utter immediately disappeared upon noticing the displeased glints in the demon royalty’s eyes. Still, he had no idea what agenda Dumbledore had to even think about exchanging immortality with a demon, or even summon one in the first place.

“I know this is off-topics, but why did you reveal yourself?” Remus inserted curiously. “I know you could’ve continued posing as a student if you truly wished to.”

“This is not the first time he attempted to obtain immortality. Still, your Headmaster’s foolish antics had angered my kings, to put it very bluntly. If he continued on this path that he is on, it will only be a matter of time before my world waged war against yours. I believe we know who will come up on the top should that occurred.”

“I hope it won’t come to that.” Peter commented with a shiver that wasn’t from the cold breeze.

“Do you truly have 26 legions awaiting your signal?”

Sirius wanted to face palm at the recklessness his best friend portrayed and was about to utter apologies to the demon before him; however, the words remained stuck in his mouth when he noted amusement shining in those red eyes.

“You never thought you’d be apologizing to me first, did you?”

He made some dying whale noises that he never knew he could do, and shot an annoyed look towards James, who merely grinned in response.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Remus asked with a thoughtful frown. “Are we truly going to war?”

Snape inhaled deeply with pursed lips and narrowed eyes in concentration. “It seems Dumbledore does not want to heed my warning and opted to summon an army of demons foolish enough to answer to his summoning. So, to answer to your question, yes, you are truly going to war.” 

Whatever words Sirius was going to utter instantly evaporated when he saw a pair of white wings engulfed Snape. He distinctly heard sharp inhales from the other Marauders – it seemed they were just as surprised as he was – more so, when the wings relinquished its cocoon state and disappeared in a flurry of raining feathers to reveal Prince Seir.

The demon prince was wearing what looked like a formal muggle attire – a white dress shirt with black vest, a pair of black slacks, and an intimidating black coat. The cold visage on previously friendly expression – at least he thought it was friendly – made him gulp and take a step back.

“At the rate he is going, he is going to massacre the entire population of Hogsmeade.” Seir murmured with a frown. “The demons he summoned aren’t going to mindlessly listen to him. It looks like I do need my legions after all.”

Those words were the only warning Sirius and his friends received before the demon prince disappeared before their very eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a big exam at the end of this month, so next update may be sometime in March.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius insists that he is not a damsel in distress, or that Seir is his knight in an armor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is staying safe! Sorry it took this long to post this. Completing this chapter felt like pulling teeth. I had to rewrite to several times before I was even halfway satisfy with how it turned it.

Chaos.

Utter and complete chaos.

Those were the only words to describe what was transpiring in Hogsmeade. Black smokes and raging flames rose towards the sky like beacons of discord, and various frightened screams resonated through previously lively village amid loud roars from summoned demons.

Seir narrowed his eyes in contemplation as he noted fallen bodies of wizards and witches, destructions of infrastructures, and the identities of the demons Dumbledore had summoned. Leading the fray was Krampus, a half-goat half-demon from the Central European folklore – which, he found it amusing that this demon was the one to answer Dumbledore’s call.

Yet, at the same time, it appalled him that the Headmaster had means to summon demons from other religions and cultures away from European countries. This also suggested that Dumbledore had no qualms to use whatever means necessary and possible to ensure victory.

He supposed he would need to step up his game.

“I have no idea what he wishes to accomplish by condoning this level of destruction.”

He turned to the owner of the voice, somewhat surprised by the sudden appearance of Phoenix, and simply hummed in agreement as he watched Krampus swiping a claw at the pub. The shop crumbled like a deck of cards while its occupants scurried away from the falling debris, fearing for their lives.

“I have no love for the humans, but even they do not deserve this.”

Seir nodded in agreement with Raim, unsurprised by the sudden appearance, and silently heaved a sigh as he swept his hand in a semi-circle. His action instantly froze the ongoing fires and halted the demons in their tracks with his ice manipulations. In fact, his little act froze destruction itself, literally, and thusly gave him a few moments to contemplate his decision – whether he should allow the destruction to continue or to save the Wizarding World.

He did not want to play the Savior of Wizarding World; yet, he knew that these mortals did not earn his ire for him to leave them with this destruction and catastrophe started by Dumbledore.

“Prince Seir, I have located other entry locations. It seems the mortal's placement of the gateways is on the belief that pentagram shape is the sturdier and most stable in handling demonic energies.”

He stared in surprised at Camio’s sudden announcement and stared at the other demon in aghast. It still astounded him that one mortal could bring forth so much devastation and catastrophe within such a short time.

“What would be your next move, my Prince?” Phoenix questioned quietly with pursed lips.

“Obliterate them without mercy.” He answered curtly with a hint of steel in his tone. “There shall be no remorse nor second chances to those foolish enough to answer to a mere mortal’s call. You have my permission and the Kings' to mobilize your legions if needed. I will be handling the fools here and at the epicenter.”

“Understood, Prince Seir.” Camio nodded with an indulgent smile, looking thoroughly amused by the upcoming power play. “With your permission, I shall inform Prince Sitri of the upcoming confrontation. I believe one of the focal entry points is nearby his current assignment.”

He nodded his assent and merely watched when all three of them disappeared in a blink of an eye. With a deep exhale, he turned his attention to the destruction before him – particularly the doorway hovering in midair that allowed demons to enter the mortal realm. Low-leveled demons they may be, but these were beings who could wrought so much havoc to mere mortals.

It irked him that a person who upheld the power and position to care for children was the one behind this. An angry roar interrupted his trail of thoughts and reminded him that a simple ice casing would not have imprisoned Krampus for long, no matter how he wished it did.

“Here we go then.” He murmured under his breath and fully unfurled his wings.

Seir ignored the fallen white wings fluttering onto the ground as he slowly ascended to the skies. He stared at Krampus, who angrily smashed a bookstore with a series of chains, and diverted his attention to the entryway.

It seemed the goat demon had called forth for reinforcements.

A cold smile made its way on his face as he flicked his wrist, making two large circles with his sigil materialized in the air. His Kings did give him permission to utilize his legions, although he truly does not need them with this minor altercation; however, he wouldn’t mind putting the fear of demon royalty on the foolish human who summoned them.

Perhaps, it was time for the foolish mortal to realize his prowess.

* * *

Confusion. Total and utter confusion.

That was the main sensation Sirius had felt for the past couple of hours. Everything he heard from Snape – no Seir – from their conversation in the afternoon had only sent him through a whirlwind of confusion and mystery that he had no certainty to clarify.

He had that feeling since he learned that Snape was Seir, a demon prince. It was surreal to know that the person whom he and the rest of Marauders had been pranking all these years happened to be a real demon prince, who could annihilate them as easily as breathing.

Furthermore, everything he thought he knew about Dumbledore seemed to a lie. He had no idea that the Headmaster had plans to control the demon prince through a Faustian Contract, or that had access to summon demons. It was one thing to realize that someone he and his friends knew was a demon, but another thing to realize that his Headmaster had means to call forth demons and intention to enslave them.

Now, the Wizarding World is going into war with the demons… at least, that was what he understood from his conversation with Seir.

He knew the Board of Governors would have a field day when this news reached their ears – not to mention, the press, who would undoubtedly slander the Headmaster’s name to hell and back.

“Hey, guys, do you know where Lily is?”

Sirius snapped out of his musing when he heard Alice’s voice, and responded in a negative.

He had only seen the redheaded Gryffindor in the passing since that infamous revelation in the Great Hall. Then again, he had not been paying attention to the redhead girl since that day. He and his friends had spent better part of the days in the library, researching about information on Seir and the possible reasons why Dumbledore was keenly interested in controlling the demon prince.

He glanced over to James, who similarly shook his head in reply, and said, “I haven’t seen her since yesterday in the Common Room. What happened, Alice?”

“We haven’t seen her since last night. We’re hoping you know where she is.” Marlene answered with a frown. “I just hope nothing had happened to her.”

He shared a concerned glance with his group of friends before he looked over to the girls. It was strange that Lily, of all people, would suddenly be missing.

He briefly wondered if their Head of the House even realized this information – then again, he highly doubted that Professor McGonagall would bother to keep track of a student when she had to deal with sudden influx of issues that Dumbledore left them with. On top of duties as the stand-in Headmistress and Transfiguration professor, the demands from Board of Governors about demon summons and sudden attack in Hogsmeade were just the things he recalled on the top of his head.

“Do you think the Headmaster…” Mary trailed off uncertainly with a frown.

“I hope not.” James murmured with a similar expression. “We’ll keep an eye out for her.”

“Thanks.”

Sirius simply waved away the gratitude and paused the words that was about to escape from his mouth when he noticed several sigils appearing in midair over the horizon where Hogsmeade was. From what he could decipher through squinting, the sigils revealed the symbol of Seir – he had paid attention during the long hours of research, after all.

“I wonder what’s going on over there.” Peter commented quietly yet worriedly. “I mean, we all know Prince Seir can handle whatever is thrown at his direction. But…”

“He did say we are going to war.” Remus reported solemnly with furrowed brows. “I wonder what Professor Dumbledore was thinking summoning demons.”

“I don’t think we will ever know.” Alice remarked just as seriously.

He hummed in agreement while his attention focused on the small speck of figures hoovering by the rising smoke. He had a strange feeling that these figures were part of Seir’s legions, and that things were going to escalate in the near future, no matter how he or others wished otherwise.

“Have anyone figured out how Headmaster have managed to summon demons?” Frank questioned with a frown.

Sirius looked over in near surprise, almost forgetting about the other Gryffindor’s presence until now. He then mulled over the inquiry in his mind even when he knew that others would not have the answer. He highly doubted he and the others would ever know the answer – he had a feeling a repercussion of some sort would follow if they inquired the Headmaster about it.

His frown only deepened when he noted a series of bright lights in the distance and the atmosphere suddenly chilled. It awed him that they could feel Seir’s powers from where they stood, making him realize just how powerful the demon prince was especially when he considered the distance from Hogsmeade to here.

An unnatural chill suddenly shot down his spine as an unexpected fear encompassed his entire self. It was utterly strange how that emotion enveloped him all of the sudden, akin to the sensation he felt when Dumbledore had summoned the lizard demon before Seir stepped in.

He briefly looked over to others in an attempt to ascertain the cause of it, but whatever words he was about to utter instantly halted when an unnatural roar encased around them. He, and the others, immediately backed several yards away from the Black Lake.

From the unknown depths of Black Lake, a golden sigil with unknown symbols materialized in thin air before a woman with hallow eyes emerged from the middle of the sigil. Based on the appearance alone, the emerged being looked like a siren of some kind; however, he knew it was anything but if he learned anything from his Magical Creatures class.

“Is this another demon?” Merlene questioned with a gulp.

“Forget if this is another demon.” Mary interjected while stepping closer to the group. “What does she want with us? Can we outrun her?”

“I don’t think we should test that.”

Sirius glanced over to Peter at that response, but did not bother to add anything. He had no idea what this demon before them was capable of, and this was neither the time nor the place to test that – not when their very lives were in jeopardy. He highly doubted the meager arsenal of spells they knew between them would help, especially when he remembered how the lizard demon had blocked them with ease. 

“What are we going to do, guys?” Alice questioned with a failed attempt to remain calm.

“What are the chances that Seir would emerge and save us again?” James asked shakily and attempted to hide behind Remus when the demon’s gaze met his.

He had no answer to that wish, but it would be surreal and wishful if it could indeed happen. The realist in him highly doubted it could happen; after all, Seir was busy containing the threat in Hogsmeade, which was something he, and the others, could see even from this distance. More importantly, none of them had the means to summon Seir - not that he would have a chance now even if he could. The foe before them would not give them a chance to do so, after all. 

He jumped in startled when another roar interrupted whatever words the others were going to say. From his peripheral vision, he noticed another sigil hovering over the Astronomy Wing as a hand emerged from the portal. Furthermore, he distinctly heard a female voice screaming in pain through all other noises as another demon emerged from that strange portal.

“Oh great, now there’s two of them.” Peter squeaked with an audible gulp.

“What are the chances that we can outrun them?”

Sirius flicked a quick glance over to Frank for that remark, but opted not to say anything when the siren-like demon screeched angrily for ignoring her. She thrusted her hand towards their direction and a white beam shot out from her palm.

He and his friends immediately scrambled away from the assault with a series of alarmed exclaims, which turned out to be a good thing because whatever the siren demon shot had evaporated and left behind a large crater.

“Oh my gosh! She left a crater! A crater!” Mary cried hysterically, all the while pointing to the large crater the demon’s attack had created.

“What do we do!” Alice added just as frantically.

* * *

“Prince Seir, we have reports that two demons had been summoned at Hogwarts.”

Seir flicked a glance at the lieutenant who gave that report and inwardly exhaled at the audacity of a certain Headmaster. After all, the older wizard was the only other mortal who had the ability to summon demons and not heed the repercussions thereafter.

“Understood. You and your team will be able to handle the rest here then?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He simply hummed in response and gave a small nod of gratitude for the report. Without any preamble, he disappeared from his spot and reappeared by Black Lake.

To say it was pure chaos would be an understatement.

He silently noted the Marauders, Frank, Alice, Mary, and Merlene and their frightened expressions from the corner of his eyes. He then noted the large crater before his gaze landed on the demon that caused the damage.

Sluagh – one of the more troublesome demons, simply due to its ability to be akin to a chameleon by appearing as a harmless mortal and then devour souls to replenish its strength. Currently, this demon had taken an appearance like a mermaid that was akin to a magical creature of British Wizarding World. 

It was rather curious as to how Dumbledore was able to summon someone of her caliber; however, he supposed he could research later just how the Headmaster was capable of this feat when lives weren’t in danger.

Seir immediately refocused and casted a protective shield around the mortals, just mere seconds before Sluagh launched another energy blast at their direction. His eyes narrowed to showcase his ire when he noted another demon hovering above the Astronomy Wing, and that demon strangely looked more human than the one standing before them and was not attacking whatsoever.

“Strange…” He murmured under his breath while he flicked a hand towards the first Sluagh, shooting off icicle spears at her direction.

He simply smirked when she intercepted his frontal assault with another energy blast, creating a field of mist as a result, and dismissed the painful shriek the demon emitted before turning into a pile of ashes.

It was too bad that she had not been paying attention to a long icicle spear behind her. He would have liked to toy with her further and extract information from her. It was not his fault that she was weak. Besides, the strength of the summoned demon was dependent upon its caster – the stronger the caster, the stronger the summoned demon. While it was possible to summon higher caliber demons due to the magical prowess of the caster, it does not necessarily mean the demon would be strong.

Still, he was glad that at least one crisis had been averted.

“Now then… why does that demon look like Lily?” He frowned as he looked at the second demon by the Astronomy Wing.

* * *

Sirius took a deep exhale when Prince Seir emerged out of thin air, like a literal prince of a child’s fairytale, in a black and gold-trim full battle regalia that contrasted with a pair of white wings. The large broadsword further added to the dangerous aura that had permeated with the demon prince’s arrival. It greatly contrasted from the formal muggle attire that he saw Prince Seir prior to departing to the battle in Hogsmeade – then again, he supposed magic made it possible for a quick outfit change.

At the risk of sounding like a damsel in distress (not that he was one), he found it rather interesting that Prince Seir, even knowing it was Snape underneath… or was it the other way around?

Regardless, he found it interesting that he felt safe and assured in Prince Seir’s presence even with the revelation of how easily the demon prince could overpower their current foe.

“Just how powerful are you?” Frank whispered almost reverently when the siren demon had disintegrated into a pile of ashes.

“Where is Lily?”

He exchanged confused glances with his fellow Marauders, Frank, and the girls, silently wondering why the demon prince was asking that. He opened his mouth to question the reason, but immediately closed when James had already given an answer to that inquiry. He supposed his curiosity was out of place, especially when he remembered that there was another siren demon that had emerged from another sigil to deal with.

“We haven’t seen her since yesterday.”

Seir simply hummed in acceptance and flicked a wrist to release them from the shields, almost like an afterthought.

It was impossible to discern what the demon prince was thinking, but he could literally feel multiple calculations running through the other’s mind. A small yet unnoticeable frown, which he caught simply because he was looking, was the only indication of Seir’s displeasure.

Sirius blinked in puzzled when he noticed a flicker of pain and hesitance that overrode Seir’s calm disposition for a briefest moment. The fact that expression instantly disappeared as soon as it appeared made him question himself if he had really seen it.

“Your Headmaster is really foolish.” Seir murmured in an eerily calm tone, and the wicked smile that slowly emerged thereafter would have made lesser men wet himself. “He better run while he still can, because I’m going to enjoy toying with him upon his capture.”

Those were the only warnings he and his friends received before a flurry of white feathers scattered around them and a burst of air shot passed them. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings, and when he did, it took him another couple of seconds to realize that Seir and the second siren demon that emerged from the strange sigil were encased in a tower of water.

He had no idea where all that water came from either.

“Well, it’s not everyday you see Prince Seir that incensed. I almost feel sorry for whomever that angered him. Almost.”

Sirius jumped in startled at the sudden remark from an unknown person that appeared out of nowhere. He bit back a smirk when Peter let out a manly shriek at the surprise with various remarks about warning a person and to not surprise mere mortals like that, which finally ended with an inquiry about the person’s identity.

“I’m the other Prince of the East, Sitri.” The light blue haired effeminate looking demon gave an introduction in a bored tone, almost like it was an afterthought.

He, and the others, continued to stare the new demon and silently prompted for an explanation because there was no way they would know just by listening to that introduction. While they had done some research on the demons, especially the royal demons, whatever they learned drastically paled in comparison to actual recounts.

“You can ask Prince Seir if you’re that curious.” Sitri responded with a huff and unfurled a pair of white wings. “After we finish dealing with this situation.”

Sirius stepped back by several steps when he felt cold air that brushed passed him and the others. He couldn’t help but inwardly note that it differed from when Seir had left – the air he felt then was warm and encompassed him with safety. This air left by Sitri, however, felt cold yet unforgiving, which only further strengthened when he felt a trill of fear for reasons unknown.

If he put it simply in wizarding terms, Seir was Light whereas Sitri was Dark.

"Was Seir insinuating that that's Lily up there?" Remus whispered in disbelief with a stunned expression. 

No one had an answer to that question, and the ones that do were busy. 


End file.
